Future changes to SNAP funding topic of committee
Rep. Ken Fleming, R-Louisville, asks a question about the overlap in SNAP and Medicaid recipients during Wednesday’s Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue meeting. A high-resolution photo can be found here.
FRANKFORT — The Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue received some welcome news during its August meeting on Wednesday.
The state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payment error rate is currently at 3.7% for 2025. The rate will need to remain below 6% for the federal government to continue covering 100% of the SNAP benefits cost going into the 2028 federal fiscal year.
The new policy is the result of House Resolution 1 – or the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – which the U.S. Congress passed earlier this summer.
Lesa Dennis, who serves as the commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Community Based Services, said the coverage rate for the 2028 federal fiscal year will be based on the 2025 or 2026 payment error rate.
“A payment error occurs when a household receives more or less than the correct benefit amount set at the $58 tolerance level,” Dennis said.
SNAP payment errors are identified through a quality control process then the error is analyzed to identify opportunities to prevent the error from being repeated, she added.
If the current error rate rises above 6%, Kentucky could be on the hook for up to a maximum of 15% of the benefit costs. Dennis said the cost sharing requirement rates are on a scale.
According to her presentation, if the error rate rises above 6% but stays below 8%, the state’s cost sharing requirement would be 5%, or an estimated $62.6 million, for example. An error rate of 10% or more would lead to a 15% cost sharing requirement of an estimated $187.8 million.
By 2029, the cost sharing rate will be based on the error rate from three years prior, Dennis said.
Committee co-chair Sen. Christian McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, asked Dennis what the department plans to do to keep the payment error rate below 6%.
Dennis said the department was examining its quality control process and other payment data prior to HR 1.
“How do we use that data? How do we use that to enhance practice and policy? (We’re looking) at our system. Where is our opportunity for some system changes and enhancements?” Dennis said. “And also looking at how we can improve practice overall.”
The state’s payment error rate has already improved compared to 2023’s error rate of 7.2%, Dennis said. The national average at that time was nearly 12%.
HR 1 is also bringing changes to the Medicaid system. Rep. Ken Fleming, R-Louisville, was curious about the overlap between SNAP recipients and Medicaid recipients.
“Are all SNAP recipients, Medicaid recipients? And not all Medicaid recipients are SNAP recipients?” he asked.
Dennis said not everyone is enrolled in both.
“When an individual applies for SNAP, they are asked about Medicaid as well, but not everyone applies for Medicaid. And not everyone who’s receiving Medicaid receives SNAP,” she added.
Rep. Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, who also co-chairs the committee, encouraged Dennis and the cabinet to ask for the legislature’s help if needed.
“We’re all rooting for you to pull that error rate down and keep it down” Petrie said. “It looks like it’s doing good. When you look at it at the historical, and also from the federal viewpoint, Kentucky is not a bad outlier of a higher error rate, historically. This is something that is within our control to address and keep it below that 6%, which helps everybody.”
The next Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue Committee is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sept. 17.
