According to USDA statistics released on June 30, 2023, the SNAP program had an 11.54% payment error rate in 2022. That marks a 4% increase from 2019. During those years, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service says states were providing pandemic-related benefits while coping with staff shortages.
The individual state error rates varied dramatically. The report says Alaska was the highest state at almost 57 percent, while many other states were far below the national average.
Nationally the 2022 overpayment rate was 9.84% while underpayments were 1.7%. On the state level, Alaska had the largest percentage of payment errors with almost 57%. It was followed by Maryland with 35.56%, Oregon with just under 23% and Delaware with more than 22%. The payment error percentages in those states were overwhelmingly driven by overpayments. New Hampshire had the highest percentage of underpayments at 4.63%. South Dakota and Idaho boasted the nation’s lowest overall payment error rates with 3.07% and 3.44% respectively.
‘”As part of the flexibilities granted to states beginning in the spring of 2020, Congress removed the requirement for states to conduct quality control reviews, which resulted in USDA being unable to publish the annual national and state payment error rates for fiscal years 2020 and 2021,” FNS said in a release.
Stacy Dean, USDA Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, says, “The circumstances put an incredible strain on program administration. The rates reflect those challenges.”
On Friday (July 7, 2023), Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), ranking member John Boozman (R-AR), House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, (R-PA) and ranking member David Scott (D-GA) issued a joint statement calling for action.
“The pandemic caused new challenges for USDA and states alike, who took measures to ensure access to SNAP. However, the national error rate as reported today is unacceptable and threatens the integrity of the program,” the four lawmakers said in their joint statement. “We urge governors and administrators to promptly establish corrective action plans and continue to work with USDA to address the root causes of these errors to improve their program operations, remain accountable to the taxpayer, and most importantly, ensure that benefits are targeted to the people who are the most in need.”
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