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Nevada officials warn SNAP changes will shift costs to state, could drop benefits for thousands
Summary
Nevada social services leaders told the Silverhaired Legislative Forum that federal HR1 provisions shift more SNAP administrative and error-exposure costs to states, will increase Nevada's first-year administrative burden by roughly $19 million and could remove benefits from about 27,000 recipients under tightened work rules.
Nevada officials told the Silverhaired Legislative Forum that changes in the federal budget law (HR1) have reshaped the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and create new fiscal and operational risks for the state.
"That is an additional $19 million in administrative cost that the state of Nevada is going to have to absorb," Kelly Cantrell, deputy administrator for the Division of Social Services, said as she outlined a shift in administrative cost-sharing that will move many program costs toward states beginning with the federal fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
What changed: HR1 moves the federal/state administrative cost split toward a larger state share and also exposes states to a share of benefit costs tied to payment error rates. Cantrell explained that if a state's payment error rate exceeds defined thresholds, the state could be required to pay a portion of benefits previously fully federally funded. Nevada's typical error rate has historically run between about 6–8 percent, and the state has launched verification and analytics efforts intended to lower that figure.
Potential beneficiary loss: Cantrell said the reinstated work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) and other eligibility changes could result in more than 27,000 Nevadans losing SNAP eligibility in the immediate round of enforcement (a number Cantrell said equates to about 6% of the state's SNAP caseload). She said the department expects that to translate to roughly $5.3 million per month in lost benefits and warned of knock-on impacts on retailers and local food supply chains.
Fraud mitigation and operations: The division described steps already taken to reduce error rates, including requiring interviews at every recertification, verifying shelter expenses, new data-analytics tools to find likely errors, and an income-monitoring report that flagged thousands of cases for followup. On fraud, Cantrell encouraged recipients to use the sanctioned mobile app (EBT Edge) that allows users to lock cards, check balances and reduce theft risk; she also reviewed the recent federal replacement window for benefits stolen by card number skimming and cloning, which allowed Nevada to document and restore more than 9,200 validated cases between July 2023 and December 2024.
Forum questions and staffing: Members asked for a breakdown of error-rate causes and whether the state can afford the new administrative share. Cantrell said more than half of recent errors are customer oversight; agency-caused errors account for roughly a third. The division reported roughly 241 eligibility staff statewide and 22 public-facing offices and said current SNAP applications are processed within 14 days on average.
What happens next: State leaders stressed the need to lower payment error rates to avoid liability and to work with the legislature on funding administrative costs. Cantrell said the division will continue technology deployments and outreach to community partners to help recipients meet work requirements or find exemptions.
Transparency note: Cantrell told the forum she would provide members with additional breakdowns on error-cause categories and a list of states that currently meet the under-6% threshold that avoids benefit cost exposure under HR1.
