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County staff outline how federal HR1 will change SNAP and Medicaid administration locally
Summary
County human-services staff summarized provisions of federal House Resolution 1 that affect SNAP and Medicaid eligibility, renewals, work requirements and retroactive coverage, and described expected county workload and potential cost-shift uncertainties between state and county.
Kurt Anderson, a Beltrami County human-services staffer, briefed commissioners on how federal House Resolution 1 (HR1) will affect two county-administered benefit programs: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid (Medical Assistance).
Anderson said HR1 makes significant changes to eligibility and administration for the Medicaid expansion population and to SNAP work rules and deductions, and that many details remain subject to state and federal guidance.
Key changes Anderson highlighted included:
- Medicaid expansion population: HR1 moves expansion enrollees to six-month renewals (instead of annual), requires a work or community engagement requirement (described as at least 80 hours per month to establish eligibility), limits immigrant eligibility to certain lawful permanent residents and specified immigrant categories, and reduces retroactive coverage. Anderson said retroactive coverage will change from three months to two months for traditional Medicaid and to one month for the expansion population.
- Medicaid co-pays and services: For the expansion population HR1 allows certain co-payments for some services, but primary care, prenatal care, pediatric care, and emergency room care are exempt from co-pays per the presentation.
- SNAP: Anderson said HR1 raised work requirement age applicability to include adults up to age 64 without dependents (previously higher ages were exempt), eliminated certain exemptions (including for some veterans, people experiencing homelessness and former foster youth), and ended SNAP-Ed funding as of January 2025. He added that utility standard deductions used in SNAP calculations will no longer be automatic for households without elderly or disabled members; those households must document utility expenses.
Anderson warned of two kinds of potential county impact: increased paperwork and renewals that raise staff workload, and administrative and benefit cost shifts the state may need to absorb or pass to counties. He said states have discretion on some timing and that Minnesota is still working through implementation details; Anderson pledged to keep the board updated as state guidance and systems evolve.
Commissioners asked about the state's current error rates and possible cost implications. Anderson said Minnesota was above a 6% error-rate threshold and that the state could choose to apply a current or future error-rate baseline for cost-sharing decisions; he noted counties are working on training to reduce error rates.
No action was taken; commissioners requested continued updates as rules are clarified and implementation timetables firm up.
"The bottom line," Anderson said, "is increased work requirements for SNAP and for the Medicaid expansion population, changes to immigrant eligibility and shorter retroactive coverage periods; these changes will likely increase county renewals and administrative workload, and cost-share questions remain under discussion with state partners."
