A bill is moving through Congress that would cut billions from federal benefits programs, including SNAP and Medicaid.
On May 22, House Republicans passed a budget reconciliation bill that would cut roughly $700 billion from Medicaid and $300 billion from SNAP over the next decade. The budget reconciliation process is a legislative process that has been historically used to fast-track federal spending, tax or debt-limit changes.
Health care and food policy advocates in Florida are pushing back on the historic cuts proposed by federal lawmakers.
“Taken together, these two proposed cuts in SNAP and Medicaid really will have devastating impacts across our communities and basically would devastate our state safety net,” Florida Policy Institute CEO Sadaf Knight said.
SNAP cuts would shift costs to states
Throughout its 86-year history, SNAP, which was preceded by the original Food Stamp Program, has been entirely paid for by the federal government . Under current law, 100% of the food benefits and 50% of the administrative costs to distribute the program are paid for with federal dollars.
Now, that could change.
“One of the most alarming provisions in this bill is a quiet but profound restructuring of SNAP’s funding model,” Food Research and Action Center deputy director Gina Plata-Nino said in a policy memo.
A provision in the budget reconciliation bill passed by House Republicans would change the way SNAP is funded in two ways.
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If approved, starting in fiscal year 2028, states would be required to pay between 5% and 25% of food benefit costs for the first time.
The sliding scale would be decided by the rate of erroneous payments made by states. For example, in Florida, the state would owe the federal government 25% of the total food benefits cost, according to 2023 error data published by the House Committee on Agriculture.
In addition, states would receive less federal support to administer SNAP. The proposed changes would decrease the federal reimbursement rate for administrative costs to run SNAP from 50% to 25%.
"This would really hamstring our ability to raise the dollars that we need to fund our Medicaid program, and would be devastating to Floridians who rely on Medicaid to receive health insurance."Florida Policy Institute CEO Sadaf Knight
Taken together, both funding changes would have dire impacts in Florida, where around 3 million people rely on SNAP.
It's estimated that the federal funding changes would more than double the cost of administering SNAP in Florida from around $89 million to $1.6 billion, according to a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) report.
“These dramatic increases put millions of Florida's children and families at risk of losing a critical program. With one in five children already experiencing food insecurity in our state, these changes threaten a family's ability to buy healthy, nutritious food,” Florida director of No Kid Hungry Sky Beard said.
National food policy experts are wary that states with weaker tax bases, like Florida, may have fewer options to shoulder the additional costs to provide SNAP benefits if the proposed changes are approved.
“States that fit that bill would be really overly reliant … on a cuts-only approach,” CBPP tax policy expert Wesley Tharpe said.
He said it's possible that Florida leaders could opt out of the SNAP program entirely.
Federal cuts to Medicaid could significantly impact Florida’s program
Since 1965, Medicaid has provided health care coverage to low-income families and individuals across the country through a partnership of federal and state dollars. The program also helps the elderly, people with disabilities and pregnant women.
In Florida, one way federal funding shortfalls are offset is through provider taxes, which are health care-related taxes levied on institutions like hospitals and nursing homes.
However, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" would ban states from imposing new or increased taxes on the providers. And Knight said that provision could have the most significant impact on Florida.
"This would really hamstring our ability to raise the dollars that we need to fund our Medicaid program, and would be devastating to Floridians who rely on Medicaid to receive health insurance," Knight said.
Knight said cuts to the program could also strain rural hospitals.
"It won't just impact the people who are receiving health care through Medicaid or nutrition benefits, it will impact all of us," she said.
But supporters of the measure said it will provide tax relief, rein in "reckless spending," and strengthen national security.
"So what we'll see in Florida and across the country, but Florida especially, is a huge spike in uninsured Floridians," Knight said. "At the same time, they will see a cutback in SNAP, people will not be able to make ends meet and receive the health care or nutrition benefits that they need, especially during an economic downturn."
About 2.3 million Floridians under age 65 lack health insurance.
Florida established its Medicaid program in 1970. Now, the Agency for Health Care Administration oversees the program, with over 4 million people enrolled.
Joan Alker is the executive director and co-founder of the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Children and Families. In a webinar in April, she said that of all the federal funds coming into Florida, 44 percent — about $19.5 billion — are from Medicaid.
If that federal funding were to disappear, Alker said it would have a "huge" impact on the state's budget and its ability to finance other initiatives.
In addition, Medicaid cuts could threaten about 33,000 jobs in Florida — about half of those are in health-care related fields.
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
