DHS Highlights Impact of Federal SNAP Changes on Wisconsinites

Early this morning, the United States House of Representatives passed the budget reconciliation bill with a set of proposals to cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), costing Wisconsin taxpayers approximately $314 million each year. The bill will now go to the United States Senate for consideration. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has started to analyze how these cuts would impact all Wisconsinites, including taking food away from families, shifting costs to Wisconsin taxpayers, and increasing red-tape requirements making it harder for parents, kids, people with disabilities, and older adults to get food assistance.

[inarticled]”Wisconsin runs one of the best SNAP programs in the country and these cuts would cost our state approximately $314 million every year,” said Wisconsin Medicaid Director Bill Hanna. “This is over a quarter billion dollars each year that Wisconsin couldn’t use for our health care, our roads, our schools, or our economy.”

SNAP, also known as “FoodShare” in Wisconsin, helps nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites put food on their tables. SNAP benefits can be used at most stores as well as many farmers markets, allowing many working families, kids, and older adults access fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year. SNAP is also good for Wisconsin’s farmers, grocers, and local economies. For every $1 of SNAP benefits, working families across the state generate $1.50 for our economy by shopping at local stores and farmers markets.

Wisconsin’s payment error rate is one of the lowest in the country—just 4.41% in 2024. These errors represent things like unexpected changes to a person’s income or accidental errors that occur when determining if someone qualifies for the program. These errors are not fraud. For the first time ever, Congress is proposing an extreme, zero tolerance policy for payment errors harming states like Wisconsin that consistently keep error rates low. DHS has analyzed the impact of these SNAP funding changes as they are currently being discussed by Congress.

New and shifting costs to Wisconsin taxpayers

For the entire 80-year history of the program, the federal government funded every dollar in SNAP food benefits. This new proposal requires states to start making matching payments for SNAP benefits, based on the state’s error rates. DHS estimates this provision would cost the state $207 million annually.

Additionally, the federal government and states have always shared the cost to administer the program. Congress is proposing a cut to the amount the federal government pays for the staff and systems necessary to run the SNAP program. This would cost the state and our counties $51 million per year.

Piling on red-tape requirements making it harder for parents, kids, people with disabilities, and older adults to get food assistance

Under the Congressional proposal, 88,200 would have to start submitting new paperwork to prove they are working, including increasing this requirement for adults from 54 to 64 years old. This requirement would also require parents with school-aged kids, including kids with disabilities, to complete more paperwork. Each year, these changes would cost an extra $44 million for Wisconsin taxpayers.

Currently, about 2,300 people in Wisconsin are exempt from work requirements due to lack of available jobs in their area. The bill put forward by Congress would end these exemptions, likely meaning that many of these people will lose their food benefits.

Overall, these red-tape requirements would put nearly 90,000 people at risk of losing SNAP benefits.

Eliminating healthy eating education programs

In addition to providing people with food assistance benefits, SNAP also provides states funding to help educate people receiving benefits on healthy eating, physical activity, and thrifty shopping. Congress is proposing to eliminate this SNAP education (SNAP-ed) funding entirely, which would result in Wisconsin losing $12 million annually.

These proposed cuts would take away food from families by piling on red-tape requirements, reduce the amount of food they can buy, and would cost Wisconsin taxpayers over a quarter billion dollars each year in order to fund this essential food assistance program. As Congress discusses these proposals, DHS will continue to analyze the impact of these provisions on Wisconsin.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.