The Effect of Removing SNAP Benefits on the Health Outcomes of Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program is one of the largest social welfare programs and is the last line of defense against poverty. However, it has come under intense controversy in recent years. In the drafting of the 2018 Farm Bill, one of the most debated issues was changing the work requirement rules for SNAP. Legislators cannot agree on whether to expand the three-month time limit for benefits without employment, which currently applies to the Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs), to the entire population. Empirically, the impact of such a change is understudied. In the aftermath of the economic crisis, most states were eligible for a waiver on this three-month time limit, yet many of them phrased out of the waiver in 2016 as the economy recovered. Using the differential time that each state phrased out of the ABAWD time limit waiver, I apply a triple-differences approach to examine the effect of ending SNAP benefit eligibility on the health of the affected group. I find that losing the SNAP benefits increases the number of physical unhealthy days experienced. I also find suggestive evidence that the BMI of the group losing SNAP benefits decreased due to malnutrition.