By Emily Wildau, MPP
Now that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has been signed into law, New Mexico lawmakers will be forced to defend against cuts to the income support programs that lift many of our families and children out of deep poverty.
The OBBBA prioritizes massive tax cuts for the ultra wealthy, paying for them by restricting access to critical income support programs for many families and forcing states to take on significantly larger portions of benefits and administrative costs for the first time. While some of these policy changes take effect right away, it’s important to note that many roll out one to three years from now.
Effective immediately, immigrants with protected status (e.g., refugees and asylees) are no longer eligible for SNAP. This means that approximately 2,000 immigrants with lawful status in New Mexico will lose their benefits, and may no longer be able to afford healthy, nutritious food for their families.
In addition, an expansion to harsh and ineffective SNAP work requirements has already taken effect, along with the elimination of exemptions for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and youth who have aged out of foster care. As a result, an estimated 54,000 New Mexicans will lose some or all of their SNAP benefits, leaving New Mexico’s lawmakers to determine how to keep food on the tables of those impacted.
Critical changes to New Mexico’s health care system will begin as early as January 2026, when enhanced premium tax credits (EPTC) are set to expire. EPTCs help New Mexico families who are not eligible for Medicaid afford health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and without them, insurance premiums will increase by approximately 7.9% from 2026-2032. On top of this hit to health insurance affordability, new work requirements for Medicaid eligibility go into effect in January 2027, which could cause up to 187,000 New Mexicans to lose their health insurance.
As early as October 2027, New Mexico will be forced to take on a higher share of the cost of SNAP benefits based on our state’s administrative error rate. Because New Mexico’s error rate is over 10%, our state will have to pay $153 million to continue funding benefits at current levels. As our state lawmakers work to identify sustainable revenue streams to support SNAP benefits, the state may face hard trade offs that could either mean shrinking SNAP eligibility and increasing barriers to program participation, or looking at cuts to other programs critical to child and family well-being.
The stark reality of the federal budget bill is that these policy changes will cause many of New Mexico’s families and children to suffer, and potentially forgo health care and meals they need to live healthy, successful lives. Our state lawmakers must act now to mitigate the harms our communities will face from these cruel cuts.
To see the full list of SNAP and Medicaid policy changes in order of when they will be implemented, along with how these changes will impact New Mexico, visit our One Big Beautiful Bill Act Implementation Timeline here.