Map Shows How Medicaid and SNAP Cuts Could Hit Your State

New Mexico and Kentucky could feel the greatest impact from Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit cuts in relation to job losses, according to data in a report by The Commonwealth Fund.

Why It Matters

More than 41 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits, making it the country’s largest food-assistance program. It provides monthly benefits to low- and no-income families, boosting their budget so that they can to buy food.

Meanwhile, more than 72 million people across the country held Medicaid coverage, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Medicaid is the government health program that offers coverage for low-income families as well as seniors and people living with disabilities.

While Donald Trump has vowed that Medicaid will not be impacted as part of the government’s spending cuts, concern has been raised about what will happen to the program, as well as SNAP. Cuts to both programs’ funding could have a significant impact not only on beneficiaries, but also more widely on the American public.

What to Know

The Commonwealth Fund report, released on March 25, predicted that millions of jobs across the country would be lost following the passing of the GOP’s budget, which called for the cutting of at least $880 billion over the next decade for programs under the jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and at least $230 billion for programs under the House Agriculture Committee, which includes Medicaid and SNAP.

New Mexico was forecasted by the organization to be hit by the potential job losses that could come as a result of the Medicaid and SNAP cuts, with 634 per 100,000 people expected to lose their jobs in the state.

The state is also expected to see a $1.17 billion loss in its gross domestic product (GDP), according to data in The Commonwealth Fund report.

Another state that is predicted to be heavily impacted is Kentucky, with 579 per 100,000 people estimated to lose their jobs and the state’s GDP forecasted to see a loss of $2.37 billion. Louisiana could see 514 per 100,000 people out of a job, and a $1.89 billion hit to its GDP.

Oregon, Alaska and New York are also predicted to see major job losses, while Wyoming was the state believed to see the smallest hit to employment rates, with 137 per 100,000 people estimated to lose their jobs.

The writers of the report noted that their prediction of the widespread impact of the cuts to employment was because of the “ripple effect” the reductions would have—if the two programs, Medicaid and SNAP, lose funding and then are forced to shed jobs and services, this would have a knock-on effect on the economic activity in other sectors.

Leighton Ku, one of the authors of The Commonwealth Fund report, previously told Newsweek that, because of this effect, even those on private health insurance would also be impacted by Medicaid cuts.

“If you’re in a poor rural area, and your local doctor’s office has to close, your local hospital has to close, that creates problems for people who are privately insured in that area too,” he said.

What People Are Saying

Ku previously told Newsweek: “If you are a conservative legislator, you may not feel great concerns about people losing health insurance, but on the other hand, if you’re told that your state will lose millions or billions of dollars in its economy and that unemployment is going to go up and that state and local tax revenues are going to be tighter, then that might cause a different sort of concern to you. So not only should there be concern for the low income people who are the direct beneficiaries of these programs, but there really are broader economic and employment effects.”

What Happens Next

Cuts to these programs remain a divisive issue. Some lawmakers believe meaningful cuts are only possible by overhauling the Medicaid system, framing it as a move to improve efficiency rather than reduce benefits, while others are pushing back, arguing that now is not the time to shrink social safety net programs.