Category: Government Programs
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Food stamp rolls fell in 52 of 53 states and territories over the year to July, USDA data show, with Texas down 683,838 people and Florida down 629,600
Food stamp participation, which the government calls SNAP, shrank in 52 of the 53 states and territories in the latest federal count. Texas lost 683,838 people between July 2025 and July 2026, and Florida lost 629,600. Only Alaska added people, and nationwide the rolls fell by more than 5.5 million. What does the USDA count…
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Food stamp error rates put 21 states and territories on track to pay the biggest share of SNAP benefits as soon as October 2027 under Trump’s 2025 law
Twenty-one states and territories posted SNAP payment error rates of 10% or higher for fiscal 2025, which puts each of them in the top bracket of the cost-sharing system created by the 2025 budget law. Under that bracket a state pays 15% of its own SNAP benefits, starting as soon as October 1, 2027. The…
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Food stamp recipients ages 18 to 64 with no child under 14 must work 80 hours a month or lose SNAP after three months in three years unless exempt
Adults on food stamps who are 18 through 64 and have no child under 14 in their SNAP household now face a time limit: three months of benefits in any three years unless they work, train or volunteer for at least 80 hours a month. The age ceiling used to be 54. It rose to…
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Wartime veterans and surviving spouses with limited income can draw a VA pension, with extra for those who need daily help
The Department of Veterans Affairs pays a monthly pension to some wartime veterans and their survivors who have limited or no income. Veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities, or who are housebound, can apply for extra pension on top of it. The VA’s pension page, last updated July 24, 2026, lays…
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SSI recipients who leave the country for 30 days in a row must report it
A winter trip to see family overseas is easy to plan and easy to forget to mention to Social Security. For people on Supplemental Security Income, a stay outside the United States of 30 consecutive days or more is a change the agency says must be reported. The rule is in Social Security’s October 7…
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Food stamp households in New Jersey cut off at recertification under the noncitizen limits in Trump’s 2025 law will not be billed for benefits already paid
New Jersey will not ask for money back from food stamp households that lose their benefits because of the new noncitizen rules. The state’s Department of Human Services says households that lose eligibility at recertification because of the changes are not subject to a claim for over-issuance for benefits received during their certification period. A…
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Anthem Medicaid members in Charlottesville and Western Halifax have until October 31 to switch plans if they want to keep Sentara doctors in network
Anthem Medicaid members in Charlottesville and Western Halifax have until Saturday, October 31 to switch health plans if they want to keep Sentara doctors in network. Sentara Health ended contract talks with Anthem after Anthem did not accept its proposal by an October 1 deadline. Anthem’s Medicaid plans are expected to go out of network…
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Food stamp benefits at least 274 days old on Indiana EBT cards will be wiped starting November 23, and the state says removed benefits cannot be replaced
Indiana will start taking back old food stamp dollars next month. Beginning November 23, 2026, the state says, every SNAP benefit that is at least 274 days old, about nine months, will be removed from the household’s EBT account. Once the money is gone, Indiana says plainly that it will not be put back. The…
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Eligible food stamp households of one or two people in the 48 states and D.C. are guaranteed at least $25 a month from October 1 through next September, up from $24 last year
The smallest SNAP households have a slightly higher floor this month. The Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Administration has set the minimum monthly benefit at $25 for eligible one- and two-person households in the 48 states and Washington, D.C. That is up from $24 in the 2026 fiscal year, and it runs from October 1,…
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Treasury’s new account-ownership and tax-ID checks became fully operational Sept. 30 and now run on federal payments before they leave
The Treasury Department says two new payment checks are now fully operational. One confirms who owns the bank account a federal payment is headed to, and the other confirms that a Taxpayer Identification Number is present and in the right format. Treasury reports that both became fully operational on September 30, 2026, and that payments…