Garfield County is preparing for big changes to Medicaid and SNAP, the federal food assistance program, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
In the past, Medicaid did not impose work requirements, while SNAP included exemptions for people over 55, and those who are unhoused or parenting children under 18. But under the new law, some of those populations will now need to show they’re working to qualify for food assistance and Medicaid eligibility.
In Garfield County, more than 4,000 people are currently receiving SNAP benefits. Of those, there are 172 unhoused people — many of whom suffer from mental illness or substance abuse issues — who were exempt from the SNAP work requirements due to their housing situation. Under the new law, they’ll have to prove they are working or lose their benefits.
Garfield County Human Services Director Sharon Longhurst-Pritt said the changes also affect the 4,072 Garfield County residents who were added to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Those individuals must meet new work requirements unless they qualify for an exemption. They’ll also have to re-qualify every six months instead of once a year, as was previously required..
“That’s going to be a huge workload to push these applications through,” she said, noting that the county has no additional funding to help absorb that extra work.
According to Longhurst-Pritt, the majority of both SNAP and Medicaid recipients are already working, but to qualify for those benefits they’ll have to submit proof, such as pay stubs.
For working parents, that additional work adds a lot of red tape to an already time consuming process, said Alison Wizer, the county’s economic security program manager.
“Now we need them to find space in their days and weeks and months to be able to meet these work requirements,” she said.
For the Garfield County staff who help individuals apply for federal benefits, complying with the new law will increase their workload, too.
“If they're having to reach out and ask for more information or get clarification, that's just going to add to the amount of time that it's already taking,” Wizer said.
Exactly how much more work the new law will impose is currently unclear. The federal government hasn’t released any guidance yet on what the county’s responsibilities are for ensuring compliance with the new requirements.
Longhurst-Pritt said she expects those guidelines in six to eight months.
But already, the uncertainty is having an impact. County staff are fielding more calls and visits to the office from people wondering how their cases will be affected.
“We're trying to prepare people as best we can with the limited information that we have,” she said.
