Planet Money After the shutdown, SNAP will still be in trouble
138 snips
Nov 1, 2025 
Vicki Aguilar, an Oregon SNAP recipient, shares her personal struggles with the application process, highlighting how small mistakes can lead to significant errors in benefit distribution. The discussion reveals alarming new laws shifting SNAP costs to states based on payment accuracy metrics, potentially costing Oregon $250 million. As eligibility workers tackle these challenges with innovative tech solutions, Vicki underscores the real-life impact of these policy changes on vulnerable families, shedding light on the urgent need for accessibility and accuracy in crucial support programs.
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Bureaucrat At A Barbecue Realizes Big Risk
- Nate Singer read the signed July 4th spending bill at a barbecue while flipping burgers and realized it shifted SNAP costs to states.
- He calculated Oregon could owe about $250 million a year if the state's payment error rate didn't fall below 6%.
Error Rate Now Determines Who Pays
- The new law ties state financial responsibility to the Payment Error Rate, not just fraud levels.
- States with high error rates risk losing federal reimbursement and must cover larger shares of SNAP costs.
Small Mistakes Have Big Consequences
- The federal definition of an error is precise: a monthly discrepancy over $57 counts as an error.
- Small documentation or data entry mistakes can materially raise a state's official error rate.