DHHS asks lawmakers for staff, tech and benefits changes to blunt federal HR 1 impact on SNAP
Loading...
Summary
Acting DHHS Deputy Commissioner Todd Haber told the joint Appropriations and HHS committees the supplemental budget adds eligibility staff, technology upgrades and a heat assistance payment to limit disruption from federal budget reconciliation law (HR 1); advocates warned penalties and hunger risks if Maine's SNAP payment-error rate remains high.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Todd Haber of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services told the Joint Standing Committees on Appropriations and Financial Affairs and on Health and Human Services that the governor's supplemental budget includes targeted requests to implement changes required by federal budget reconciliation law (Public Law 119‑21, commonly called HR 1). Haber said the administration seeks to add 105.5 positions statewide, primarily to meet new verification, community‑engagement and work‑reporting requirements affecting SNAP and Medicaid.
The changes matter because HR 1 reduces the federal administrative match rate for SNAP from 50% to 25% and ties future federal benefit liability to a state payment‑error rate. "This provision in HR 1 shifts the cost sharing from the federal government to the state," Haber said. He told members the department is proposing a mix of state and federal funding for many of the new positions and that technology upgrades to eligibility systems will be required to comply. The administration also proposes language allowing DHHS to issue a one‑time annual heating assistance payment to SNAP households to restore an automatic deduction lost under HR 1.
Why it matters: DHHS and advocates said the stakes are financial and human. The department highlighted Maine's current SNAP payment‑error rates — about 10.26% for FFY24 and roughly 9.58% year‑to‑date for FFY25 — and laid out a sliding penalty schedule tied to that rate. Haber told the committee that falling below a 6% error threshold avoids federal penalties, but higher bands could trigger estimated state liabilities of about $17.8 million (if between 6%–7.99%), $35.6 million (if 8%–9.99%), and in excess of $50 million if the error rate exceeds 10%.
Advocates who testified during public comment urged lawmakers to fund the department's requests. Alex Carter of Maine Equal Justice warned that HR 1's changes "cannot be overstated," stressing that implementation will require staff capacity and system modernization. Hunger‑advocacy groups told the committee they saw a sharp increase in demand at food pantries when SNAP benefits were threatened last fall and warned that charity cannot replace SNAP if federal funding is reduced or withheld.
Committee members pressed for detail: representatives asked for a breakdown of the 105.5 positions, vacancy lists, the departmental plan to reduce the payment‑error rate (Haber identified 44 positions tied directly to payment‑error reduction), and a clearer accounting of state versus federal shares for technology upgrades. Haber committed to delivering charts and itemized staffing and cost allocations at the work session.
The next step: the committee deferred further decisions and requested detailed follow‑up materials for the work session, including the total projected state cost to implement HR 1 changes, vacancy reports, and a schedule for the planned technology work.
