benē
System Briefing

Understanding
Your Position.

The American social safety net isn't a single net. It's a fragmented labyrinth of 50 different state systems, clashing federal thresholds, and hidden co-eligibility triggers. Before the AI analyzes your data, you need to understand the grid.

The Foundational Baselines

To process your eligibility, our deterministic rules engine evaluates you against the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Updated annually by the Department of Health and Human Services, these numbers dictate exactly where the legal line for assistance is drawn.

Notice how rapidly your required threshold scales as you add dependents. If your gross income lands even one dollar over these strict limits, you trigger an automatic administrative denial.

Your Financial Baseline

Federal Poverty Level (FPL) Calculator

1
100% FPLBaseline

$1330/mo

The statutory poverty line. Used as the anchor for almost all safety net mathematics.

130% FPLSNAP Limit

$1729/mo

The standard federal gross income limit for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

200% FPLBBCE State Limit

$2660/mo

The elevated gross income threshold used by 43 states utilizing Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility.

Algorithmic Pitfalls

Defining the
"Household" Unit

"Household" doesn't mean who shares your address. It means who eats together, who files taxes together — and the answer is different for every program. Getting this wrong doesn't just reduce your benefit. It can disqualify you entirely: a single ineligible member's income counted against a household that never actually shared finances.

Tax Status (MAGI)

Used for Medicaid. Defined strictly by tax filing status—the primary filer, spouse, and claimed dependents, regardless of physical residence.

Physical Proximity (SNAP)

Defined behaviorally. Includes individuals who live together and customarily "purchase and prepare meals together", overriding independent tax filings.

Your Zip Code Governs You

Federal policy establishes the absolute minimum. However, your state determines the actual reality of your eligibility through localized administrative expansions and restrictions. A $20,000 annual income in Massachusetts yields vastly different federal benefits than that exact same income does in Texas.

Geography as Policy

State-by-State Divergence

Federal laws only provide the basement. Your state decides the actual height of the ceiling. See how identical financial situations fail or succeed strictly based on zip code.

Expansion State (41 States + DC)

Coverage Gap Eliminated

Nearly all non-elderly adults with incomes up to 138% FPL are categorically eligible for health coverage. You are protected even if you have no dependents.

Non-Expansion State (10 States)

The Coverage Gap

Income limits are not applied. If you are a childless, able-bodied adult, you are categorically ineligible for coverage regardless of how low your income falls.

Zero-Knowledge Processing

To check your eligibility, we ask about income, household size, and a few health-related details. That information is sensitive — and we treat it that way. Nothing you enter is stored, sold, or used to train any AI model.

Your answers are used once, in the moment, to run the eligibility analysis. When you close the tab, they're gone. We never see them. Neither does anyone else.

Ready to map your exact eligibility?

Initialize AI Assessment