Sources

Where our numbers come from.

Every figure on this site links here. Each source opens in a new tab.

Figures on the home page

KFF

Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker ↗

Used for: Medicaid. 69% of people who lost coverage in the unwinding lost it for procedural (paperwork) reasons, in the states that reported why.
IRS

EITC Participation Rate by State, tax year 2022 ↗

Used for: EITC. National and state participation rates; about 80.8% of eligible taxpayers claimed the credit nationally, so about 19.2% did not.
USDA Food and Nutrition Administration

Reaching Those in Need: Estimates of State SNAP Participation Rates in 2022 ↗

Used for: SNAP. National rate 88%. USDA caps state estimates at 100%, which it says “should not be interpreted to mean that every eligible person participated.”
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

WIC’s Critical Benefits Reach More of Those Eligible Than in Recent Years (March 2026) ↗

Used for: WIC. 56.1% of eligible people took part in 2023, so about 44% did not.

Annie Lowrey · Ecco, 2026

The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time, and How to Fix It ↗

The hours people lose to forms, calls, and lines.
Jennifer Pahlka · Metropolitan Books, 2023

Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better ↗

Why public services break, and how to fix them.
Pamela Herd and Donald Moynihan · Russell Sage Foundation, 2018

Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means ↗

How paperwork keeps eligible people out.
NCOA with the Urban Institute · May 2026

The $58 Billion Benefits Gap Affecting Older Adults ↗

What older adults leave unclaimed in SNAP, SSI, and Medicare Savings Programs: about $58 billion a year.
New York Health Foundation · May 2026

Benefits on Paper, Barriers in Practice ↗

About 877,000 New Yorkers likely eligible for SNAP aren’t enrolled, leaving roughly $1.1 billion a year unclaimed.