WV Analysis: Dual Work Rules Risk Medicaid, SNAP Losses
The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy finds that 84% of SNAP households in the state include someone on Medicaid, meaning many families will face two separate work-requirement reporting processes starting January 1, 2027. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, expanded Medicaid enrollees and SNAP recipients must each log 80 hours per month of work, training or volunteering, with the age ceiling raised from 54 to 64 and exemptions removed for homeless individuals, veterans and former foster youth under 25. The state confirms that meeting SNAP work requirements automatically satisfies Medicaid's requirement, but not vice versa, creating asymmetric compliance burdens for about 49,000 households with children receiving both benefits. Analysts warn that without streamlined reporting, eligible people are likely to lose coverage or food assistance due to missed notices or technical errors, building on the more than 22,000 West Virginians already removed from SNAP and an estimated 33,000 projected to lose Medicaid.