Mecklenburg County residents on Medicaid or SNAP face new work requirements and eligibility rules that could cost them their benefits.

The county's Department of Community Resources launched an educational campaign Tuesday, Sept. 8, to help residents prepare. Two deadlines loom: changes to Medicaid coverage for some noncitizens take effect Thursday, Oct. 1, and an 80-hour monthly work requirement for many Medicaid recipients ages 19 through 64 begins Friday, Jan. 1, 2027.

Some SNAP changes are already in effect. Certain adults must now work, volunteer or participate in approved activities for at least 80 hours each month to keep their benefits. The federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the upper age limit for that requirement from 54 to 64, narrowed the dependent-child exemption to families with a child under 14, and removed exemptions for homeless people, veterans and young adults who aged out of foster care, NC Health News reported in July.

Noncitizen eligibility rules for SNAP have also changed. Exemptions from the work requirement may still apply based on age, health, disability or caregiving responsibilities.

The scale is significant. About 1.4 million North Carolinians were receiving SNAP benefits as of late 2025, roughly 1 in 8 residents, according to state data compiled by the NC Institute of Medicine. Since the federal law took effect, about 105,000 fewer North Carolinians are receiving SNAP, according to the NC Budget & Tax Center.

A study published in JAMA Health Forum in August found that nearly 20% of Medicaid-eligible adults in expansion states risk losing coverage because they cannot meet the 80-hour work requirement, Medical Xpress reported. Up to 10 million people nationally could lose Medicaid.

To satisfy the coming Medicaid work requirement, approved activities will include employment, education, job training, volunteering and community service. Some recipients will also need to renew eligibility every six months instead of annually. Exemptions apply for people with disabilities, serious medical conditions, pregnant women, parents and caregivers.

"The rules have changed and we have to educate our community, especially our residents who count on this support for their everyday needs," County Manager Mike Bryant said in the county's announcement.

Yulonda D. Griffin, director of the Department of Community Resources, said the county is increasing staff training and urged residents to spread the word to family members who rely on the programs.

The same federal law also shifted counties' share of SNAP administrative costs from 50% to 75%, creating an estimated $52 million in new costs statewide that the state legislature did not fund, NC Health News reported.

The county is telling residents to update their mailing address and phone number with Mecklenburg County, read and respond to every county notice by its deadline, document work or volunteer hours, and set up an enhanced account at epass.nc.gov. More information is available at dcr.mecknc.gov/changes-to-snap-and-medicaid. The first deadline, for noncitizen Medicaid eligibility changes, is three weeks away.