Thousands could lose Medicaid, SNAP with federal cuts, Mecklenburg manager warns
Tens of thousands of Mecklenburg residents are at risk of losing health care and food assistance due to federal funding cuts and policy changes, county leadership warns.
The Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law earlier this month, slashes spending on Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. The bill also institutes new work requirements for some receiving Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
Mecklenburg “has the most SNAP and Medicaid recipients” in North Carolina, new County Manager Mike Bryant told The Charlotte Observer.
How much of a hit the county will take under the new legislation depends on how the law is implemented and how the state manages program changes, Bryant said. But the “overall impact on residents”, he warned, could be “devastating.”
“We are still getting our arms around the actual impacts,” Bryant said.
What’s been done to Medicaid, SNAP?
The bill included sweeping changes to Medicaid, which provides health care to eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities.
The legislation reduces federal Medicaid spending by an estimated $911 billion over ten years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, and institutes new work requirements for some Medicaid recipients.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services estimates all the changes could lead to a $50 billion loss in Medicaid funding for North Carolina over 10 years, The News & Observer reported previously.
The CBO also estimates the bill will reduce federal spending on SNAP by about $187 billion over the 10 years while expanding work requirements for SNAP recipients ages 55 to 64 and parents with children older than 13 years old.
Those changes, opponents of the legislation say, will leave states scrambling to make up funding deficits. The legislation sparked some bipartisan concern in North Carolina from leaders who say the Medicaid cuts will jeopardize health care access for those who got coverage through North Carolina’s 2023 Medicaid expansion.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has repeatedly criticized the legislation, calling it a federal “expense dump” on states, The News & Observer reported previously. And Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, shortly after ending his bid for reelection, voted against the bill after voicing concern about the Medicaid cuts.
The News & Observer reported several top state appropriators say the state likely won’t fully meet new Medicaid funding demands, triggering a need for cuts to Medicaid services.
How many Mecklenburg County residents could be affected?
Bryant told the Observer about 414,000 Mecklenburg County residents are on Medicaid, and more than 143,000 receive SNAP benefits.
“78,600 residents, or a little over 6% of our population receiving Medicaid, are at risk of losing vital coverage if Medicaid expansion is terminated,” he said.
Bryant added that even if North Carolina is able to preserve its Medicaid expansion despite the federal cuts, “up to 33,000” could still lose health care coverage in Mecklenburg under the new work requirements.
He estimated “19,000 Mecklenburg County residents currently receiving SNAP benefits are at risk of losing vital coverage due to expanded work requirements and the associated documentation burden.”
Bryant said the “documentation burden” from the new requirements “would impact” county operations as well. State officials have warned the new work requirements would add more work for staff responsible tracking compliance.
“The overall impact on residents will be devastating and could result in possible reductions in staff,” he said.
What’s next for Medicaid, SNAP recipients?
County spokeswoman Suzette Nedrich said the figures shared by Bryant are the county’s “best estimates of the potential impact” of the Medicaid and SNAP cuts.
But Bryant and Nedrich said the exact impact on Mecklenburg County will largely depend on how the state responds to the federal legislation.
“The NC Department of Health & Human Services, as the administrator of both Medicaid and SNAP programs, must make subsequent policy and funding decisions in order to fully estimate the potential impact and implementation timeline locally,” Nedrich said.
She said state government “has shared that if it is not able to identify the more than $400 million in additional revenue to cover the additional state-share required by the bill, they will consider ending the SNAP program in NC.”
State leaders told The News & Observer they’re still sorting out how to manage the impacts of the bill on North Carolina and awaiting more federal guidance on exactly what’s coming and when.
County staff will provide an update to Mecklenburg County commissioners at their Aug. 6 meeting, Nedrich said.
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 10:59 AM.
