New Lifeline cell phone programs: Assurance is still the best deal

You may have heard of some of the many options out there for subsidized cell phone service for low-income people known as Lifeline. There are now six options available. The newest one is YourTel Wireless which is offering a free phone and 250 free minutes a month. This program is similar to the Lifeline prepaid wireless programs Safelink and Assurance, which also offer 250 free minutes. Also T-mobile now has a Lifeline plan which offers 145 anytime minutes, 500 night minutes and 500 weekend minutes for $6.49. This is similar to the Lifeline plans through AT&T and Sprint. We want to let you know that Assurance Wireless is still the best deal for low income people to get a cell phone.

There are two types of Lifeline cellphone programs: prepaid and plans. The plans are 1 to 2 year contracts with the phone company, where they bill you every month for the services you use. We don’t recommend plans because they are more expensive and if you don’t have much money it is easy to get into debt with the phone company. If you go over your allotted minutes you will be charged overage fees for each additional minute (AT&T charges 15¢, Sprint charges 45¢, T-Mobile charges 25¢). You may also be charged extra if you use your phone outside of their coverage area (called roaming) or make calls to directory assistance. If you cannot afford to pay your bills they will send your bill to a collections agency.

Prepaid phones, also called ‘pay-as-you-go phones’ don’t require a long-term contract, monthly bills, or a credit check. SafeLink Wireless (from Tracfone), Assurance Wireless (from Virgin Mobile) and YourTel Wireless all offer a free phone, up to 250 free minutes every month, plus free voice mail, caller ID and call waiting. In the first few days of each month, your monthly allotment of free minutes will be added to your phone. If you use all your free minutes before the end of the month you will need to buy additional minutes, which can be purchased online, by phone and at retail stores on top-up cards. The main difference between these three programs is the cost of additional minutes: Extra minute packs through SafeLink add up to about 10¢ per minute, YourTel extra minute packs add up to about 5¢ per minute, while Assurance extra minute packs add up to about 2¢ per minute. Assurance extra minutes are available as either $5 for 250 extra minutes or $20 for 750 minutes and 1000 texts—only one extra minute pack may be added each month. Because Assurance wireless is pay-as-you-go and has the lowest rates for additional minutes this is the program we recommend.

It is important to note that to apply for a Lifeline phone you must provide a unique physical mailing address where no one else is receiving telephone assistance; they will not send the phone to an address that has already received one, (even if its from a different company) and won't send a phone to P.O. boxes or commercial addresses. So, you will not be eligible if you live in a shelter or other group housing situation where each resident doesn't have their own unique address, or if you live in a car or on the street.

To be eligible for either Lifeline program you must either receive DSHS benefits or your income must be below 135% of federal poverty level. The eligible benefits are Food Stamps, Medical Assistance, Supplemental Security Income, Disability Lifeline (or GAU), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, State Family Assistance, DSHS Chore Services, Refugee Assistance or Community Options Program Entry System. All these programs require a Social Security number to apply. To qualify based on program participation you must provide your DSHS client ID number, which can be found in the top right corner of any letter addressed to you from DSHS, from your case worker or by calling the statewide Customer Service Center at 1-877-501-2233. To apply based on income your income must be below 1,225 dollars a month for a single person, 1,655 dollars a month for a family of 2, 2,085 dollars a month for a family of 3, 2,514 dollars a month for a family of 4, or 2,944 dollars a month for a family of 5, add 430 dollars a month for each additional family member. To qualify based on income, you will need to mail them documentation of your income: such as Federal or state tax return, current income statement or W2 from an employer, 3 consecutive months of current pay stubs, Social Security statement of benefits, Retirement or Pension benefits statement, Unemployment or Workers Comp statement of benefits, or other legal document that shows income.

Based on CVM’s analysis, Assurance Wireless is still the best deal overall for Lifeline cell phones, right now. To apply for Assurance call 1-800-395-2108 or print and mail their application from their website assurancewireless.com. But, we recommend that you still keep your CVM number, so you have a stable number where you can always be reached, even if you run out of minutes and can’t afford to buy more, or you loose or break your phone, and so you continue to receive our broadcast messages about community resources like this. Thanks for using Community Voice Mail.