Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility and SNAP Reach Among Low-Income Older Adults

Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) is a state-level Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) policy option that expands income and asset eligibility. Understanding its effects on SNAP participation among low-income older adults is important for evaluating how eligibility expansions influence access to nutrition assistance.

We combined SNAP Quality Control administrative data with Census population-based survey data from 1996 to 2020 to estimate SNAP reach among low-income older adults across states. Leveraging the staggered timing of BBCE adoption, we estimated its impact using a staggered difference-in-differences design.

BBCE adoption increased SNAP reach among low-income older adults by 7.1 percentage points (95% CI: 5.3-8.8), corresponding to approximately 2.1 million additional participants. Dynamic estimates indicated that BBCE effects emerged gradually following adoption, with larger estimated effects observed in later post-adoption periods. Observed trends exhibited lower relative cross-state variation in SNAP reach than would be expected without BBCE adoption, suggesting that BBCE moderated the widening of geographic disparities, although substantial cross-state heterogeneity remained.

Expanding SNAP eligibility through BBCE may improve access to nutrition assistance among low-income older adults. However, persistent geographic variation in SNAP reach suggests that reducing disparities may require not only expanded eligibility but also state-level administrative and institutional supports that facilitate enrollment.