“Big, Beautiful Bill” a Nightmare for Farmers, SNAP and Medicaid Users

I, the author of this post, is deeply saddened, concerned, and disappointed in the passing of the budget bill. Through a public health lens, this bill brings devastation to millions of people across the country. SNAP and Medicaid are relied on by families, young professionals, older adults, adults with disabilities, and children. These programs are life saving for some people. I was once on SNAP, during my time as an AmeriCorps member here at Farmshed (which is a program that has been cut in the past two months.) AmeriCorps is a service program, so our wages are small despite working full time hours. My eligibility for SNAP allowed me to save some money, continue eating nutritiously, and help my friends with their own grocery bills. I have been able to see firsthand how important this program is. 

Below is a description of the estimated health and social implications of the implementation of the budget bill passed by the House, Senate, and signed by the President.

On Thursday, July 3rd, the House of Representatives passed President Trump’s tax bill in a vote of 218-214. This tax bill narrowly passed the Senate, and Vice President Vance voted to break a tie, which sent it back to the House. It passed yet again and has officially been signed by the President.

This bill has raised concerns over devastating cuts to social assistance programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and renewable energy tax credits while funding ICE operations and border security operations. Cutting these programs grants massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle class and the poorest Americans.

According to Civil Eats, a food policy tracking organization, the cuts to SNAP are the largest the program has seen in history. SNAP is the largest hunger-relief program in the United States with approximately 42 million Americans who use the program. It is estimated that changes to the program will result in five million Americans losing these benefits due to expanded work requirements to qualify. Expanding work requirements also increases program administrative costs to track compliance. For example, people with kids between the ages of fourteen and eighteen will have to increase their amount of hours worked to qualify for benefits. Before the program changes, anyone with children below the age of eighteen were exempt from these requirements. Once the work requirements are implemented, approximately six million people will have to be screened for exemptions, meaning more labor costs to screen for compliance and delay in receiving services. Cost shifts are also expected to lead states to cut their own funding or canceling programs altogether. All in all, cuts to this program are going to cause more financial burden on low-income families by creating more barriers to accessing food security and increasing  household costs.

The budget cuts are a response to reduce “waste and fraud” within these programs. While complete deniability that fraud can occur within these programs would be inaccurate, these budget cuts will harm individuals who are using the program as intended and create ineligibility in many households that rely on SNAP. According to Civil Eats, most of the fraud that occurs within SNAP is called “skimming,” where benefits are stolen from the EBT cards SNAP users are given. In 2024, it is estimated that $190 million of benefits were stolen. An important thing to note is that the budget bill doesn’t have any intervention to address skimming. Another form of fraud and waste that may be discussed is error rates, which are commonly more administrative and reporting errors than any action with a more malicious intent. According to Katie Bergh, a policy analyst with the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, error rates are typically low due to the rigorous quality control within the program and incentives to prevent error rates. Contrary to this argument, low-income individuals are not maliciously taking advantage of these programs out of greed; these programs allow people to purchase groceries when they otherwise struggle to do so.

To add insult to injury, the bill also contains the largest cut to Medicaid in the nation’s history. Currently, 71 million people rely on Medicaid for healthcare. Many of these people are children, pregnant people, people with disabilities, and adults over 65 years old. People using Medicaid also have a new work hour requirement, including those over the age of 65. Without meeting this new requirement, millions of people will lose their benefits. These new changes come at a time where obtaining work is as difficult as ever.

Farmers will feel the impact of these budget cuts from multiple directions. Firstly, farmers disproportionately rely on the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. Up to 34% of the population within 10 farm states rely on ACA and Medicaid, many of which are also composed of rural counties. Additionally, further restrictions on SNAP are estimated to result in a $25 million drop in farm revenue. When people have difficulty affording food, the food chain can face disruptions that can shake farm operations.

As mentioned in the previous blog post, the U.S agricultural industries relies heavily on the labor of immigrants and migrant workers in order to keep foods on our shelves. The budget bill, in addition to defunding food and healthcare programs for the poorest Americans, increases funding for ICE operations in order to conduct mass deportations. Not only have we witnessed violations of human rights in the raids and abductions that have already occurred, but the loss of their contribution to our food system will disrupt the supply chain and could increase prices of foods. Worksite raids on farms or in restaurants don't free up jobs for U.S citizens like it is claimed to be doing.

The reduction of funding for SNAP will be felt by farmers as well as households who rely on these benefits for themselves and their families. Estimates predict that 5 million people will lose their benefits when the bill is implemented. This estimate includes children, adults over 65 years old, and adults with disabilities. SNAP benefits help relieve buying pressure in households with lower incomes, allowing them to make other necessary purchases and meet their basic needs. SNAP can also support increasing access to nutritious foods. In the U.S the cheapest foods are commonly the ones with the least amount of nutritional value, contributing to health disparities we see between classes. SNAP offers the opportunity to purchase foods that people may otherwise struggle with purchasing, such as fresh produce. Some farmers markets also accept SNAP benefits, allowing participants to participate in their local agriculture economy. Without benefits, accessing nutritious foods will become more difficult. 

Why are they cutting these essential, and in some cases, life dependent programs? 

The bill gives tax breaks to the wealthiest households in the U.S., quite literally putting profits before people.