SNAP Benefit May Lower Health Care Spending

Enrollment in SNAP may be associated with lower health spending, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data on health spending for U.S. adults who were eligible for SNAP, including 1,889 people who were SNAP participants and 2,558 who were not. Overall, the study found, SNAP participation was associated with about $1,400 less in average annual health care costs for each low-income adult.

There wasn’t much difference in annual health spending based on SNAP participation when researchers only accounted for two factors that can influence medical costs – age and gender. The difference was much more pronounced, however, when researchers also considered race, region, insurance, education, income, disability and other medical problems. When all of those factors were taken into account, SNAP enrollees had average annual health spending that was $1,409 less than people who didn’t participate in the program.

Source: Huffington Post, 9/26/17, Health Care Spending