Wagner and Gaudet, 2020

Article

Removing Barriers to Access From Remote Identity Proofing. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Wagner, J., Gaudet, G.

2020

Wagner, J., Gaudet, G. (2020). Removing Barriers to Access From Remote Identity Proofing. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://doi.org/10.2307/resrep24215

https://doi.org/10.2307/resrep24215

JSTOR

Some states are adding unnecessary complexity to Medicaid and SNAP (formerly food stamps) online systems, blocking people from applying, reporting changes, and completing renewals through online portals. One way they do that is by requiring people to verify their identity through a process called Remote Identity Proofing (RIDP) before applying or transacting other business. RIDP is not required to determine eligibility for Medicaid, premium tax credits, or other safety net programs. It’s a federally required security step for certain types of online interfaces, but many states unnecessarily require clients to complete the process even when their online systems do not have features that trigger an RIDP requirement. This paper provides background on RIDP, explains when it’s required, and makes recommendations on how states can preserve the security of online interfaces without the barrier of RIDP.

States should review their online systems and modify or remove their RIDP process to make their systems easier to access, especially when RIDP isn’t the only or necessarily the best way to ensure the security and confidentiality of client information. If states continue to require RIDP, they should consider ways to remove the barriers it poses. Among other steps, they could let applicants bypass RIDP during an application and reserve verification for later in the process or allow trained community partners to help with identity verification.