Federal actions have widespread impacts to Washingtonians who rely on public benefits programs to meet their basic needs. Most public benefits programs operate as a federal-state partnership, where the state administers benefits that are paid for in part of in full by the federal government.
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed HR1, or the “Big Beautiful Bill”, into law. The impacts of this bill will gradually go into effect over the next 5 years. This bill has wide-ranging impacts from public benefits to tax codes. The bill is designed to benefit wealthy Americans while stripping the safety net for those living in poverty. The cuts frame poverty as an individual failure instead of a systemic one, forcing families to go without and states to do more with less. While the impacts are widespread, the deepest harm will come to two programs: SNAP and Medicaid.
For a summary of this bill, view or download our HR1 Impact factsheet, highlighting some of the main impacts of the bill in addition to its implementation timeline over the next five years. You can also view it as a webpage (screen reader friendly). Or, read on below for Medicaid and SNAP specific factsheets.
Timeline of Changes to Public Benefits
Impacts to Medicaid
Medicaid impacts are beginning to roll out in 2026. These include several changes, such as the addition of work requirements, a reduction in coverage for many immigrants, and new “public charge” status for all Medicaid clients which has severe immigration implications.
To learn more, view or download our one-pager on impacts to Medicaid. You can also view it as a webpage (screen-reader accessible).
Impacts to SNAP
Most SNAP impacts started in late 2025. They largely focused on expanding work requirements to groups who were previously exempt.
To learn more, view or download our one-pager on impacts to SNAP benefits, highlighting the new work requirements and exemptions. You can also view it as a webpage (screen-reader accessible).
Spotlight on work requirements starting Dec. 1, 2025:
The following people will NOT have to do work requirements:
- People 65 or older
- Families with children younger than 14 in the house
- People with work-limiting disabilities
Anyone else on SNAP in WA may have needed to begin work requirements starting on December 1, 2025. Everyone outside of King County, people experiencing
homelessness, veterans, and those in extended foster care were previously
exempt, and will now have to do work requirements unless they fit into one of
the categories above. You may need to recertify if you will still be exempt under a different category.
Find food resources near you:
- A directory of food banks in your area
- A compiled document with food resources across WA:
We encourage anyone looking to support food security to donate to your local food bank.
More questions? Need a different format?
Please reach out to celestel@povertyaction.org with questions, or if you’d like these materials in a different format.
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