New research suggests that food stamps, the major U.S. anti-hunger program, do more than help poor people buy food — they “may promote better health and lower healthcare costs,” said a paper by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank. Food stamps are expected to be one of the most contentious issues in the 2018 farm bill, with conservatives intent on restricting enrollment in the program.
The program serves about 42 million Americans a month, though participation leaped to 45.6 million last fall with the distribution of short-term “disaster” food stamps following the hurricanes in Texas and Florida. The average benefit was $145 a person in October, the most recent month in USDA records. The Center on Budget said nearly 70 percent of recipients are either families with children, the elderly, or disabled people.
“Research emerging in the last 10 years suggests that SNAP may affect household well-being in ways that extend beyond its intended aim to improve food security and nutrition,” said the think tank, using the acronym for the food stamp program, officially named the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. “The available evidence suggests that SNAP is at least associated with and may promote better health and lower healthcare costs. And to the extent this connection exists, it is plausible that policies that limit program eligibility and cut SNAP benefits would harm health and raise healthcare costs.”
Households with trouble obtaining enough food also spend more on medical care than food-secure households, said the report. “And extensive research has shown a strong correlation between food insecurity and chronic health conditions among various age groups: children, working-age adults, and seniors.” Conversely, food stamp recipients are more likely to report excellent or very good health than non-participants.
“States should be especially interested in the possibility that enrolling low-income eligible individuals and families in SNAP might help reduce healthcare costs,” said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Medicaid accounts for a quarter of state government spending, the report said. States cover from 25 to 50 percent of the cost of Medicaid, while food stamps are a federal program. “As a result, changes in policies that improve access to SNAP’s benefits could provide short- and long-term relief to state Medicaid budgets.”
House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway has advocated for “meaningful reforms” in the food stamp program and has focused on stricter work requirements, particularly for able-bodied adults without dependents. The Trump administration also has expressed interest in narrowing the latitude states have to provide benefits to able-bodied adults beyond 90 days in a three-year period unless they work at least 80 hours a month or spend an equivalent amount of time in workfare or job-training programs. In his budget proposal last May, President Trump called for a 25 percent cut in food stamp funding and a requirement that states shoulder 20 percent of the cost of the program.