---
type: source
title: "Estimated Mortality Due to SNAP Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act"
author: "Penn LDI (Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics)"
url: https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/estimated-mortality-due-to-snap-provisions-in-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act/
date: 2025-01-01
domain: health
secondary_domains: []
format: thread
status: processed
processed_by: vida
processed_date: 2026-04-01
priority: high
tags: [SNAP, OBBBA, Medicaid, food-insecurity, mortality, policy, One-Big-Beautiful-Bill, food-cuts]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

Penn Leonard Davis Institute research memo estimating mortality consequences of SNAP provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

**Key estimate:** **93,000 premature deaths between now and 2039** resulting from SNAP loss under the bill's provisions.

**Methodology:**
- Source: CBO projection that 3.2 million people under age 65 will lose SNAP benefits
- Applied peer-reviewed mortality rates from prior research quantifying mortality of individuals under 65 WITH SNAP vs. a similar group WITHOUT SNAP over a 14-year period
- 14-year projection aligns with the research base's observation window

**OBBBA SNAP provisions context (from supplemental search):**
- $186-187 billion in SNAP cuts (largest in program history, roughly 20% cut)
- 4 million people (including 1 million children) to lose benefits substantially or entirely in an average month
- Nearly 3 million young adults ages 18–24 specifically vulnerable to losing assistance
- Work requirement expansions (this was also applied to Medicaid — Session 13)

**Prior research basis cited:** LDI researchers' own studies showing SNAP's protective effects — associations with lower diabetes prevalence and fewer deaths from heart disease.

**Scale comparison:** 93,000 premature deaths over 14 years = approximately 6,600 additional deaths per year, concentrated in under-65 population.

## Agent Notes

**Why this matters:** Translates the abstract SNAP-health evidence into a concrete policy mortality projection. 93,000 deaths is a staggering number — comparable to annual US road fatality toll (~40,000) multiplied by 2+. This is NOT a speculative claim — it's an evidence-based projection from peer-reviewed mortality rate research applied to CBO's own headcount projection.

**What surprised me:** The 14-year mortality projection is very long. The SNAP benefit period in the underlying research is also 14 years. The methodology is relatively transparent: [CBO headcount] × [peer-reviewed per-person mortality rate] = projected excess deaths. The transparency makes it more credible than a black-box model.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Breakdown of the 93,000 by cause of death (cardiovascular vs. other) and by demographic group (which racial/income populations bear the highest share of projected deaths). Given that SNAP's known benefits include lower diabetes prevalence and heart disease deaths, a significant portion of the 93,000 should be cardiovascular.

**KB connections:**
- Session 13: OBBBA Medicaid work requirements timeline (January 2027) — SNAP cuts add a second pathway to coverage loss in the OBBBA
- Session 16: TEMPO + OBBBA structural contradiction (digital health investment for Medicare while coverage dismantled for Medicaid) — SNAP cuts extend this contradiction further: food infrastructure investment (TEMPO) for one population while food assistance cut for another
- CARDIA study (Session 17): food insecurity → 41% higher CVD — the 93,000 projected deaths likely include the CARDIA mechanism playing out at scale

**CLAIM CANDIDATE:**
"OBBBA SNAP cuts are projected to cause 93,000 premature deaths through 2039 in the under-65 population, applying peer-reviewed per-person mortality rates to CBO's projection of 3.2 million losing SNAP benefits" — confidence: experimental (modeled projection, methodology is transparent but modeling assumptions carry uncertainty)

**Context:** The OBBBA passed and was signed into law (per search results). SNAP provisions include work requirements affecting 18–54 age group and benefit reductions. The FNS (USDA Food and Nutrition Service) published implementation guidance for SNAP provisions. Penn LDI has published policy analyses on OBBBA across multiple programs.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)

PRIMARY CONNECTION: Session 13 OBBBA Medicaid thread + Session 16 TEMPO/OBBBA structural contradiction

WHY ARCHIVED: Quantifies the mortality stakes of the SNAP cut in a transparent, methodology-clear way. Allows a concrete claim about projected harms, not just mechanism evidence.

EXTRACTION HINT: This is a policy projection, not empirical research. Extract as "experimental" confidence. The transparency of the methodology (CBO headcount × peer-reviewed mortality rate) is the source of whatever credibility it has. Note uncertainty: the 14-year projection is long; policy could change; mortality rates could differ from the base research population. But the direction is well-supported.
