全球智库信息集成服务系统

If the administration’s proposed changes to broad-based categorical eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are implemented, about 434,000 people in households with a senior would no longer meet SNAP’s income test, and 323,000 would not pass its asset test. These people would lose access to an average monthly SNAP benefit of $68 per household, reducing benefits by over $42 million monthly. About 231,000 people in households with an adult living with a disability would no longer meet SNAP’s income test, and 87,000 would not pass its asset test. These people would lose access to an average monthly SNAP benefit of $53 per household, or over $10 million in total monthly. Seniors and adults with disabilities who live on fixed incomes are at risk of losing an important resource, and any increases in food insecurity among both populations would exacerbate health challenges and health care costs. Without SNAP benefits, more seniors and more adults living with disabilities would be food insecure. Already, about 2.9 million households with seniors, including approximately 1.3 million seniors living alone, reported being food insecure in 2018 That number is expected to rise if more participants lose benefits.

This brief was corrected September 23, 2019. The proposed changes to broad-based categorical would reduce total benefits by millions of dollars monthly, not annually. The text on pages 1, 2, and 4 has been updated accordingly.