* Remember Rich’s column from last summer about Illinois’ SNAP payment error rate?…

The costs to Illinois’ government because of the new Republican congressional budget reconciliation law will be steep. […]

If current trends continue, Illinois will have to pay 15% of the total SNAP benefit costs, which, according to the governor’s office, would be $705 million a year.

The reason the state is on the hook for 15% of benefit costs is because of its high SNAP payment error rate, which stood at 11.56% in fiscal year 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The state’s error rates for underpayments to SNAP beneficiaries was less than 1%, but its overpayment error rate was 10.6%.

The new federal law requires that states with SNAP payment error rates of 10% or higher must pay 15% of SNAP benefit costs. The state will struggle mightily to afford that, so lots of people may lose their food aid if things don’t change. […]

If Illinois could reduce its error rate to above 8% but below 10% — on par with states like Michigan, Ohio and Texas then it would pay 10% of benefit costs, or $470 million a year.

* Numbers released yesterday show Illinois’ SNAP payment error rate hit 14.67 percent in FY2025. WTVO…

Illinois could face hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties or lost federal funding tied to its administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as new federal data shows the state has one of the highest payment error rates in the country.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent SNAP Quality Control report found Illinois posted a 14.67% payment error rate in fiscal year 2025, well above the national average of 10.62%. The rate reflects how often benefits are issued incorrectly, including both overpayments and underpayments. […]

Under changes approved in a 2025 federal law, states with high SNAP error rates could be required to cover a share of program costs. Illinois’ current trajectory could put it on the hook for roughly $700 million annually if its error rate remains above 10%.

The policy establishes a sliding scale: states with error rates above 10% may be responsible for 15% of total SNAP benefit costs, while lower error rates would reduce that share. […]

Illinois received about $4.7 billion in SNAP funding last year, meaning even a partial cost shift could have major budget implications.

* The AP…

An exception in the federal law gives states with the highest error rates more time to try to reduce them. States with error rates of at least 13.34% last year will receive a delay in their cost-share requirements until at least the 2029 fiscal year.

The delay will benefit Alaska, which had the highest error rate of over 23%. Other jurisdictions receiving a one-year, cost-share delay are Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon and the District of Columbia. […]

A recent survey of state agencies that run SNAP found that most already are analyzing the root causes of their payment errors. The mistakes appear to be evenly attributable to SNAP recipients and program administrators, and many states are planning to increase staff focused on eliminating errors, according to the survey released by American Public Human Services Association.

But states also are planning for cuts, if they are forced to pay a portion of SNAP benefits. More than a quarter of the states responding to the survey said they could consider narrowing eligibility policies, and four states said they could consider withdrawing from SNAP entirely. The report did not list those states.

* US Department of Agriculture…

In addition to this matching fund requirement, states with PER at or above 6% threshold are required to submit a Corrective Action Plan to USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration detailing how they will address the root cause of their errors. Some of these states may also be liable for a separate financial penalty as part of the SNAP quality control process.

* House Minority Leader Tony McCombie…

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the annual Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payment error rates (PER) showing Illinois’ rate as one of the highest at 14.67%:

“Illinois’ SNAP error rate has skyrocketed because of years of mismanagement, and our most vulnerable will be paying the price.

“This isn’t about taking benefits away from families who legitimately need assistance. It’s about making sure the program is administered properly and taxpayer dollars are protected. Fraud, waste, and abuse have no place in government.

“Governor Pritzker can’t blame the federal government for Illinois’ failures. If families lose benefits, it will be because he refuses to fix one of the highest error rates in the nation, that responsibility rests squarely with him.”

Thoughts?

…Adding…. Gov. Pritzker today…

We have worked steadfastly really, every day. Our Department of Human Services and others have worked together to make sure that we’re upgrading the technology, upgrading the number of people that we have applied to the SNAP error rate from that time to now, and we’ve made a significant dent from that time to now. That number is now significantly down from not just the 14% but below the 11 plus percent that was originally reported.

…Adding…. The governor did not have the new error rate number, but stood by his claim that the rate was below FY24.