Emergency Broadband Benefits Make It More Affordable For Superior HealthPlan Members To Stay Connected

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Jul 13, 2021, 07:00 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, July 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Superior HealthPlan is encouraging members to take advantage of the Emergency Broadband Benefits program created by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to help members in low-income, underserved, and rural communities better connect digitally. The program provides a discount of up to $50 per month toward broadband services to eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on tribal land, plus a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet.

"Digital access is no longer a luxury item," said Susan Mills, Senior Vice President of Population Health & Clinical Operations at Superior HealthPlan. "Broadband is a utility that every home in America should have access to at an affordable price, and can help improve the overall health and well-being of individuals, families, and neighborhoods across Texas."

To be eligible for program benefits, households need to meet just one of the following criteria:

Qualify for SNAP, Medicaid or the Lifeline program;¹
Receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program (or have received during the previous school year);
Received a Federal Pell Grant this year;
Experienced a substantial loss of income since Feb. 29, 2020, and the household had a total income below $99,000 for single filers or $198,000 for joint filers in 2020; or,
Qualify for a participating providers' existing low-income or COVID-19 program.

A list of emergency broadband benefit providers by state can be found here.²

Superior has also put together a list of resources that can be combined with the emergency broadband benefit to help members access phone and internet services:

LIFELINE: Lifeline is an FCC program that provides subscribers a discount of up to $9.25 on monthly telephone service, broadband internet service, or bundled voice-broadband packages. To find out if you qualify and how to apply, visit the Lifeline Support page.³
SAFELINK: SafeLink is a federal phone and data program available to SNAP recipients and Medicaid beneficiaries. Through SafeLink, eligible recipients receive free minutes, texts, and data every month. Benefits vary by state. For more information on how to enroll, visit the SafeLink Enrollment page.⁴
ACCESS FROM AT&T: Access from AT&T provides low-cost internet service, including in-home Wi-Fi, for $10/month or less in some areas. Currently, Access from AT&T is available in 21 states. Visit ACCESS from AT&T to learn more.⁵

For more information about the Emergency Broadband Benefits program, visit https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit.

About Superior HealthPlan
Founded in 1999, Superior HealthPlan is a managed care company that delivers quality healthcare throughout Texas. Committed to transforming the health of the community, one person at a time, Superior supports active local involvement in all 254 Texas counties with more than 4,000 employees in 8 offices throughout the state. Superior is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a leading multi-national healthcare enterprise offering both core Medicaid and specialty services. More information on Superior can be found at www.SuperiorHealthPlan.com.

SOURCES:
1. https://www.fcc.gov/lifeline-consumers
2. https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-broadband-benefit-providers
3. https://www.lifelinesupport.org
4. https://www.safelinkwireless.com/Enrollment/Safelink/en/Web/www/default/index.html#!/newHome
5. https://www.att.com/internet/access/

SOURCE Superior HealthPlan