How to Qualify for the Lifeline Program
When it’s time to pay bills, lots of low-income families are caught between a rock and a hard place. Phone bills might not rank high on priorities when you’re still trying to figure out how to pay for housing and food. However, maintaining communication is still a necessity for low-income earners. In 1985, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) devised the lifeline phone program to aid low-income American families in accessing communication services.
Since its inception, the lifeline program has undergone reform. Residents have to ascertain local regulations before sending their applications. For instance, Oklahoma residents can look up the guidelines for the lifeline phone program Oklahoma before applying.
How to Be Eligible for the Lifeline Program?
The FCC set up the National Verifier application system for consumers to apply for the lifeline program. This system confirms applicants’ qualifications for the lifeline program. Applicants for the lifeline phone program have to be participants or qualified for the following programs to participate:
- Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit Programs
- Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8)
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF) Head Start Programs (under income qualifying eligibility provision only)
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP)
- Medicaid
- Income at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines
You can put your lifeline application through approved local telephone companies. Hence residents interested in the lifeline phone program of their state can send in their applications through designated telephone providers.
