NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 2, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Dana Kazel, Communications Manager
218-725-5049 (office) • 218-591-2219 (cell)
St. Louis County highlights impacts of federal budget bill
As the U.S. House of Representatives now considers a major federal reconciliation bill, St. Louis County leadership is closely monitoring the legislation and has engaged with federal leaders about potential impacts to citizens, county government operations and the property tax levy.
As written, the federal bill will shift Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) costs from the federal government to states. Meanwhile, for Medicaid, the bill will increase the workload to manage the program. Because Minnesota is one of 10 states that rely on counties to administer Medicaid and SNAP, this means these new costs will be shifted to and incurred by counties.
It is currently estimated that the impact of this cost shift to St. Louis County will be more than $10 million for SNAP and $6.4 million for Medicaid. This is the equivalent of a 9.5% increase in the property tax levy.
Additionally, more staff will be needed to fulfill the bill's increased requirements for verifying participants' eligibility for the programs. St. Louis County staff are responsible for determining eligibility, enrollment and renewals for approximately 40,000 people - 20% of county residents - who receive Medicaid coverage annually; and for 16,000 residents who receive SNAP benefits on a month basis.
County staff are on the front lines and know the situations of families and individuals served by these programs. St. Louis County remains committed to administering them in compliance with all federal and state rules, while being mindful of the impacts to property taxpayers.
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