Greene County staff warns federal SNAP, HEAP and Medicaid changes will raise local costs and workload

A county services staff member told the Greene County committee on Monday, Aug. 11, that recent federal and state changes to food, heating and health benefit rules will increase local costs and require additional staffing and budget adjustments.

The staff member said the federal government’s change to SNAP administrative funding means Greene County will pay a larger share of administrative costs: “The new change is adding an additional 55%, so we'll be paying 75%.” That shift, the staff member said, raises the county’s annual administrative cost by more than $245,000 and will increase next year’s budgeted county share by about $61,000.

The county services staff framed the changes as a federal-to-state-to-county pass-through. “No. From the feds to the state, and the state passed it on to the county,” the staff member said when asked about who set the requirement.

The staff member said the federal work requirement definition for able-bodied adults without dependents was expanded in age range and other exemptions were removed, meaning more recipients could face work or participation requirements. “They changed the definition of the…