Exposure to SNAP work requirements associated with increases in mental health care utilization

Exposure to SNAP work requirements associated with increases in mental health care utilization

A new study from Northwestern University has found that dealing with work requirements to receive nutrition benefits from the U.S. government significantly increased mental health care utilization for depression and anxiety. The negative effects of politics appeared much earlier for women than for men.

This is the first study to examine how work requirements relate to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); sometimes referred to as food stamps; affect mental health.

The study was published July 28 in the journal Health Services Research.

SNAP improves the food security, health, and economic well-being of low-income individuals and families and is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service.

We have known for some time that food insecurity is associated with poor mental health outcomes due to the associated fear, stigma, depression, anxiety and stress. So it’s no wonder that people’s stress increased when they realized that if they didn’t meet these requirements, they would lose their access to food.”

Lindsey Allen, corresponding author, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Background information on SNAP, how the study worked

While SNAP work requirements are federally mandated, states can obtain exemptions Counties where there aren't a lot of economic opportunities. As employment rates and job openings have increased over the past decade, these waivers are being eliminated, leaving hundreds of thousands of SNAP enrollees vulnerable to the requirements.

In 2016, West Virginia implemented these work requirements in a nine-county pilot program. Researchers analyzed West Virginia's Medicaid eligibility data to assess whether health care coverage for depression and anxiety changed after treatment district residents were exposed to SNAP work requirements. The study sample included individuals ages 18 to 49 years who were enrolled in both SNAP and Medicaid at baseline.

Study results:

The study found that exposure to work demands worsened depression and anxiety among residents of the nine pilot counties.

For women, work demands increased visits for depression and anxiety by 26% and 12%, respectively. Visits also increased among men, but more slowly than among women. The timing difference may be due to the larger role women play in managing family nutrition, making them more immediately vulnerable to the consequences of food insecurity, Allen said.

The study adds to a growing body of recent evidence that SNAP work requirements do not improve employment rates - their intended outcome - but do reduce SNAP participation, particularly among vulnerable groups such as people without income, people without a home and people living in rural areas.

“Essentially, these work requirements hurt people with no measurable benefit to the economy,” Allen said.

Policymakers and future research should seek to better understand these tradeoffs when considering the net impact of SNAP work requirement policies on an already marginalized population, Allen said.

Source:

Northwestern University

Reference:

Allen, L., et al. (2022) SNAP work requirements increase mental health care utilization. Health services research. doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.14033.