A new analysis published in the JAMA Health Forum examines the long-run effects of SNAP work requirements that were introduced across approximately half of towns in Connecticut starting in 2016 and then later reversed. 

The research follows a previous study that examined how SNAP work requirements in Connecticut affected different groups of beneficiaries by age, health status, and income. The papers are the first to show that the enrollment effects of work requirements can be long-lasting and difficult to reverse.

The Policy

Starting in January 2016, 87 towns in Connecticut instituted SNAP work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. These requirements mandate that SNAP participants register their work or face a three-month time limit for receiving SNAP benefits. In January 2017, 41 towns eliminated the requirements.

What Happened

• SNAP work requirements in Connecticut reduced enrollment in the program by 25%. On average, beneficiaries who lost SNAP coverage lost about $2,746 in benefits (2023 dollars) over an 18-month period.
• People aged 40 to 49 years with three or more chronic conditions were 5.5 times more likely to lose benefits than people 25 to 29 years old without chronic conditions. Looking at age alone, people aged 40-49 were nearly four times as likely to lose benefits than people 25-29. People with three or more chronic conditions were nearly 1.5 times more likely to lose benefits than those with no chronic conditions, regardless of age.
• People with diabetes were nearly twice as likely to lose benefits than people without chronic conditions. This suggests the policy disproportionately impacts those with higher nutritional needs.
• The policy was especially harmful to the poorest beneficiaries. People with no net income were 3.7 times as likely to lose benefits when compared with highest-income SNAP beneficiaries. Because SNAP provides more grocery money to people with the lowest incomes, the poorest beneficiaries were not only most likely to lose benefits, but they also had the most benefits to lose. 
• SNAP work requirements pushed beneficiaries off SNAP, but not off Medicaid. This suggests unenrolled beneficiaries still needed the social safety net. The researchers cautioned that Medicaid costs could increase as a result of food insecurity.
• SNAP enrollment didn’t rebound after work requirements were removed, and the poorest beneficiaries were least likely to be re-enrolled. After work requirements were removed, there was no significant change in SNAP enrollment among people who were once again eligible. Two years later, enrollment for those with no net income still hadn’t fully recovered and enrollment patterns were similar in towns that reversed their policy and those that didn’t. This suggests people may have had difficulty re-enrolling, or were unaware they were once again eligible. 
• Many beneficiaries who lost coverage due to work requirements were receiving income. This suggests that the administrative burden associated with reporting is a significant challenge for some beneficiaries.

Lessons for Federal and State SNAP Policy

The new findings suggest state policymakers concerned about federal proposals to expand SNAP work requirements should take a closer look at how easy it is for beneficiaries in their state to sign up for SNAP and comply with reporting requirements.

“If SNAP work requirements are expanded at the federal level, the harm will be lasting and not easily reversed,” said Chima Ndumele, Associate Professor of Public Health at the Yale School of Public Health and a lead author of the paper. “For many people, following policy changes and adhering to stricter reporting requirements is a real barrier to receiving benefits, even when they’re eligible. This is something states will really need to contend with."

In anticipation of proposed changes to the safety net program, the researchers have several policy recommendations.

For the federal government:

1. Work requirements don’t work. The preponderance of evidence suggests that work requirements don’t achieve their stated goals. They rarely induce people to work, impose administrative reporting burdens on individuals who are working, and take away benefits from the neediest populations. Expanding work requirements to older populations with more chronic conditions is, on average, likely to deepen the harms that existing work requirements facilitate.

For states:

1. States can consider discretionary exemptions from work requirements for older individuals with chronic conditions or other health concerns. Robust data linkage may allow state agencies to identify specific health groups that would be most impacted, and states without these linkages can use age cut-offs. Discretionary exemptions currently allow states to exempt up to 8% of their population subject to work requirements. 

2. States should streamline enrollment and renewal processes using existing data. With significant participant overlap across safety net programs, states can design systems that alleviate heavy reporting requirements and prevent unnecessary program turnover.
    
3. States should engage in robust information campaigns to increase awareness of policies and reporting requirements. Many beneficiaries are unaware of reporting requirements, causing them to lose coverage even when they are working and in compliance with regulations. States have the capacity to invest in and modernize systems to inform and remind beneficiaries of reporting expectations.

Research Details

These findings are the result of two studies conducted by the SCALE Medicaid Lab at Yale School of Public Health.

SNAP Work Requirements Reversal and Program Enrollment, JAMA Health Forum, May 30, 2025

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Work Requirements and Safety-Net Program Participation, JAMA Internal Medicine, November 4, 2024

Methodology

From 2009 until 2016, Connecticut was covered by a statewide waiver of work requirements. As of January 1, 2016, Connecticut was only eligible for a partial waiver in which 82 towns remained exempt from work requirements based on combined unemployment rates 20% above the national average. For the remaining 87 towns, work requirements were reinstated in January 2016.

To understand how work requirements affected different groups of beneficiaries, the authors compared changes over time in SNAP enrollment for able-bodied adults without dependents in work requirement towns compared with exempt towns and unaffected parents and caregivers.

In 2017, Connecticut was able to extend its partial waiver to exempt an additional 41 towns. To study how likely beneficiaries were to re-enroll once eligible, the authors compared enrollment changes over time for these towns relative to towns where work requirements remained in place.