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Oregon agencies warn SNAP and Medicaid provisions in HR 1 could disrupt school meals, early intervention and broadband supports
Summary
State education and health officials told lawmakers HR 1’s SNAP and Medicaid provisions risk reducing direct certification for meals, undermining summer food and IDEA‑related reimbursements, and could strain programs that support connectivity and early childhood services.
Teneal Weatherall, deputy director of operations for the Oregon Department of Education, told the committee that Oregon relies on direct certification—automatic matches between SNAP, TANF, foster care, Medicaid and school enrollment records—to identify students eligible for free and reduced‑price meals. Weatherall said reductions in SNAP or Medicaid eligibility would mean fewer directly certified students, fewer schools qualifying for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), and increased paperwork for families and districts.
Weatherall described ODE’s short‑term mitigation: recertifying child‑nutrition sponsors in 2026 to lock CEP percentages through 2030 so districts are insulated from SNAP changes until after that recertification cycle. But she warned of longer‑term consequences: reduced Medicaid eligibility could cut reimbursement revenue that supports early‑intervention and special‑education services (IDEA) and increase the administrative burden on school staff.
Risha Grinstead, Medicaid policy manager for children and families at the Oregon Health Authority, said school‑based Medicaid billing remains available under current federal rules and that OHA is encouraging more educational agencies to participate in Medicaid administrative claiming and direct service billing. Grinstead said HR 1 has not yet altered the mechanics of school billing but that OHA is monitoring eligibility changes for groups (for example, lawfully present immigrants) that could reduce the pool of billable students.
Jessica Amaya Hoffman, deputy director for self‑sufficiency programs, reported SNAP supports about 757,000 Oregonians (roughly 1 in 6) and that 54% of SNAP recipients in Oregon are children. She described HR 1 provisions that will likely reduce benefits and eligibility: cost‑neutral adjustments to the Thrifty Food Plan, elimination of the SNAP education grant, reduction in refugee/asylee eligibility (projected to affect approximately 3,000 lawfully present individuals), and loss of the standard utility allowance beginning Nov. 1 that will reduce average monthly benefits by about $58 for roughly 29,000 households. Hoffman warned those changes will increase hunger risk and reduce access to summer meals tied to direct certification.
