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KLRD briefing: HR 1’s SNAP, Medicaid changes could expand work rules and shift costs to Kansas
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Summary
Kansas Legislative Research Department told the Committee on Welfare Reform that HR 1 (the "Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025") tightens noncitizen eligibility, alters the Thrifty Food Plan and creates new state matching requirements tied to SNAP error rates — changes that could increase state administrative costs and expand who is subject to work requirements.
Natalie Nelson of the Kansas Legislative Research Department told the Committee on Welfare Reform that HR 1, the "Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025," makes multiple federal changes that will have measurable effects in Kansas, particularly for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and for Medicaid and CHIP administration.
“The act amends the Food and Nutrition Act to revise how the Thrifty Food Plan is updated,” Nelson said, summarizing a provision that limits future reevaluations of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), requires annual CPI-U adjustments each October and delays market-basket reevaluations until at least Oct. 1, 2027. KLRD noted that change could cause SNAP allotments to lag behind actual food costs over time.
Nelson also described revisions to SNAP work requirements. The act raises the upper-age exception to 65, narrows caregiver exceptions to those caring for children under 14, removes some previous exceptions (including for homeless individuals, veterans and certain former foster youth) and tightens the criteria under which states may request waivers of time limits. “States other than Alaska and Hawaii may now only request waivers when the unemployment rate meets or exceeds 10% in an area,” she said, a change KLRD said would expand the number of Kansas recipients subject to ABAWD rules.
KLRD flagged a new SNAP quality-control incentive that links state matching requirements on benefit allotments to a state’s SNAP payment error rate. Nelson told the committee that Kansas’ aggregate SNAP error rate for 2024 was 9.98% and KDCF estimated the 2025 error rate at 9.47%; under the proposed structure KLRD said Kansas would face a required state match based on those rates. Nelson added the act increases the state share of SNAP administrative costs from 50% to 75% beginning in federal fiscal year 2027; KLRD estimated an additional annual administrative burden to Kansas at about $19.7 million.
Nelson said the act also narrows SNAP eligibility for certain noncitizens (limiting eligibility to U.S. citizens and a shorter list of lawful residents and entrants), which KLRD warned could reduce direct certification for the National School Lunch Program and increase reliance on household surveys — with possible funding and reporting implications for school districts.
On other items, KLRD reported the act ended required federal SNAP-Ed funding effective Dec. 1, 2025; Kansas previously received roughly $2.8 million for SNAP-Ed. Nelson outlined several Medicaid and CHIP provisions — including a moratorium on two regulatory changes intended to streamline eligibility, new address-verification and duplicate-enrollment checks, limits on retroactive coverage (reducing some three-month retroactive coverage to two months) and new constraints on state-directed payments and certain provider-tax arrangements.
Committee members repeatedly asked for more granular numbers. Representative Bergkamp asked for counts of people affected by age and exception changes; Representative Simmons requested counts for homeless individuals, veterans and former foster youth. Nelson said KLRD would follow up with those figures and that she had noted where different provisions had different effective dates.
The committee did not take any votes; Nelson stood for questions and the agenda moved on to a DCF briefing.
