Tennessee is making big changes to its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — also known as SNAP, food stamps or EBT — and it’s going to be expensive.
Some of the changes will affect SNAP enrollees directly. But other changes are more behind the scenes, and those are the ones that will likely cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.
Work requirement changes
More Tennesseans who get food aid are now subject to work requirements. That means they will have to document working or volunteering at least 20 hours per week. This is part of the legislative package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which overhauled several social support programs and slashed their funding over the next decade.
Work requirements already existed, but now more people are be subject to them.
Able-bodied adults over the age of 54 used to be exempt. HR 1 raised the cap, and now work requirements apply to anyone under the age of 65.
Parents with kids under the age of 18 used to be exempt, but HR 1 changed that cutoff too. The exemption only applies if kids are under 14.
Veterans, aged-out foster children and homeless people used to be exempt, but they will now be subject to the requirements.
The following exemptions still exist, according to a TDHS press release:
- under the age of 18
- are 65 years of age or older
- are pregnant
- work, volunteer, or participate in a job training program at least 80 hours a month
- live with a child under 14
- care for someone who is sick or disabled
- get disability benefits like Social Security, SSI, or VA
- have a health problem or temporary disability that keeps them from working
- enrolled in school at least half-time
- in a drug or alcohol treatment program
- receive unemployment benefits
Work requirement debate
Supporters of work requirements tend to be politically conservative. They say that able-bodied people should participate in the labor market or support their communities as volunteers for their own good. The idea: working benefits people not only economically, but makes them healthier and more likely to stay married.
People who oppose work requirements on benefit programs like SNAP or Medicaid tend to be more progressive. They argue that most of these people already work or volunteer; the requirements just create a burdensome paperwork process. That burden makes an already challenging situation more difficult, and puts people at risk for unduly losing their benefits.
Implementing work requirements
It’s unclear what kind of cost will be associated with implementing the work requirements.
The state already has an online document portal for SNAP enrollees, but could need to pay its vendor for changes to the setup. Employees will have to review the employment and volunteer logs, and they will have to respond to appeals and complaints if people lose eligibility.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees SNAP. And usually it would be giving states guidance on making these changes, said Signe Anderson, the senior director of nutrition advocacy at the Tennessee Justice Center, during a weekly briefing.
“A lot of the administrative changes must be made and staff must be trained appropriately in order for these changes to actually come into effect,” she said. “That’s a piece that has been missing from the guidance.”
Usually, there would be a 120-day “hold harmless” period — a government-approved learning curve for changing programs. That would have given Tennessee until November to put the changes into place. But this change went into effect immediately.
Other big costs
Until HR 1 passed, the federal government split SNAP’s administrative costs with the state. That means the feds chipped in half of what TDHS paid in salaries, equipment and other expenses associated with handling SNAP. Starting next year, HR 1 changes the formula so that Tennessee will have to pay 75%.
“We’re looking at an upward of $67 million added to the Tennessee state budget,” Anderson said.
And Tennessee never had to pay for the actual benefits out of state coffers. The money going onto the food aid debit cards came fully from the federal government. But HR 1 is also changing that. States will have to cover part of the benefits, and their percentages will vary based on their “error rates.” That means the fraction of the time they over- or under-pay benefits because they miscalculated. Tennessee used to have a high rate: about 15% of the time, the state issued too much or too little money.
“We could be talking up to $240 million if we have a high error rate,” Anderson said. “Or for current levels, we’re currently at about a 10% error rate. That’s $161 million that the state has to come up with — in addition to the administrative costs.”
The Tennessee General Assembly designs the state budget each spring. It will have to tackle these new costs during its next legislative session, starting in January.
Anderson said lawmakers should avoid procrastinating.
“Those are the conversations we want to have right now,” she said. “They have to come up with funding they’ve never had to come up with before.”
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