RI Facing Potentially 4,000 Layoffs and Loss of $380M in Medicaid and SNAP Funds, Says New Report

RI Facing Potentially 4,000 Layoffs and Loss of $380M in Medicaid and SNAP Funds, Says New Report

A report released by the Commonwealth Fund looks at the potential 2026 job losses state by state as a result of the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP federal funding under the House Budget Resolution.

 

Medicaid Hit

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According to the analysis, if the structure of the House resolution is adopted, Rhode Island is slated to lose $294.3 million in Medicaid funding.

Further, the study finds that as a result, Rhode Island will lose an estimated 3,500 jobs just from the Medicaid cuts alone.

 

Tax Revenue Losses — RI to Lose Nearly $100M

Both state and local communities will be hit with lower tax revenues.

According to the Commonwealth, Rhode Island will lose about $60 million at the state level and another $35.8 million at the local level.

 

 

Impact of SNAP Cuts on RI

Proposed SNAP cuts are estimated by the Commonwealth fund to hit Rhode Island adversely for about $81 million in loss revenue and another 500 estimated jobs.

The impact of the Medicaid and SNAP cuts totals 4,000.

This would be in addition to the sour news released by Governor Dan McKee's office on Thursday.

The February unemployment rate in Rhode Island was 4.7%, up one-tenth of a percentage point from the January rate. Last year, the rate was 4.0% in February.

Rhode Island's unemployment rate is higher than the national average and increasing faster.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.1% in February, up one-tenth of a percentage point from January. The U.S. rate was 3.9% in February 2024.

 

Context and What Is Next

Commonwealth writes, "Congress is considering a joint resolution to set federal budget targets for the next 10 years. Although the actual policies will need to be specified in subsequent legislation, the U.S. House of Representatives budget resolution calls for cutting 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. The principal entitlement programs under these committees are Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program), which indicates that these two programs are the principal targets for budget cutbacks."

"The combined cuts represent a more than $1.1 trillion loss of services that millions of low-income Americans rely upon. The Senate budget resolution is less specific; it mentions cuts of at least $1 billion, although it would permit deeper cuts," adds Commonwealth.

This story was first published 3/28/25 6:13 PM