8 News Now: SNAP work rules, other changes on May 1 will cut benefits to 27,700 Nevadans, health officials estimate

An estimated 20,000 Nevadans will lose SNAP benefits due to work requirements that take effect on May 1, 2026, state officials said on Tuesday.

Adding in other changes to SNAP eligibility, and that estimate climbs to 27,700 people, according to Kelly Cantrelle, deputy administrator at the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. That’s about 6% of all current SNAP recipients.

Trump administration changes will affect 122,000 Nevadans in some way, and the Nevada Legislature’s Committee on Health and Human Services met to learn more about those impacts.

About $89 million in state funds is spent each month through the SNAP program, and the eligibility requirements will reduce that by $5.3 million. Cantrelle pointed to the economic effect that will come along with that reduction, and how it will be distributed along the food chain.

“The USDA has estimated that for every $1 in SNAP benefits that are spent, $1.54 comes back to the local economy,” she said. That means the cuts will actually carry an economic impact closer to $8 million on retailers, distributors and others who are part of the chain.

The biggest changes in SNAP eligibility involve work requirements and age ranges within exceptions.

Able-bodied adults without dependents will be required to work at least 20 hours per week or take part in programs that will meet the requirement. Those include on-the-job training programs, community service and approved work programs.

Starting May 1, people 18 to 64 will have to meet the requirement in order to receive SNAP benefits.

Another set of eligibility rules looks at groups including refugees, parolees, people who came to the U.S. seeking asylum, and other “lawfully residing non-citizens.” The state estimates about 2,000 people in these groups will lose SNAP eligibility.

The federal government will reduce its share of administrative costs for SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, once known as food stamps — on Oct. 1 from 50% down to 25%. At the same time, Nevada is preparing to deal with large cuts in federal aid through Medicaid.

About 90% of SNAP recipients are also on Medicaid, according to Laura Rich, Director of Health and Human Services.

“For the state to be able to absorb such a cost within the next 10 years, I think, is becoming astronomical. And that’s on top of what we have to deal with Medicaid.

And so I think it’s imperative for Nevadans to understand the severity of what we’re facing,” Democratic State Sen. Fabian Doñate said.

Other changes in eligibility will remove veterans, homeless people and youth who have aged out of foster care. Those recipients won’t be eligible again until 2030.

Cantrelle assured lawmakers that the state is reaching out to current recipients and businesses that rely on customers using SNAP benefits to prepare for the changes.