A lot of people get SNAP and Medicaid at the same time. KFF, a health policy research group, found that about one in five adults likely to face Medicaid's new work rule also get SNAP. So it's normal to hold two letters about two work rules and wonder if you have to do everything twice.
Often you don't. The two rules look alike, but they aren't the same, and one federal rule ties them together in a way that can save you a lot of paperwork.
SNAP vs. Medicaid work requirements at a glance
Here's the side-by-side version. The rows below the table explain the parts that trip people up.
| SNAP time limit | Medicaid work rule | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it covers | Adults 18 through 64 who can work | Expansion adults 19 through 64 |
| Child in the home | Left out if responsible for a child under 14 | Left out if parent or caregiver of a child 13 or under |
| Hours | 80 a month (20 a week, averaged) | 80 a month |
| What counts | Paid work, in-kind work, unpaid work, work programs | Work, community service, work programs, half-time school |
| Volunteering | "Unpaid work, verified under standards established by the State agency" | "Community service" with a public or nonprofit group |
| Earnings instead of hours | Working 30 hours a week, or earning at least federal minimum wage times 30 a week, exempts you | Monthly income of at least federal minimum wage times 80 ($580) |
| Free months | 3 months in a 36-month period | None |
| When it's checked | Month by month; your state sets how often you turn in proof | At application and renewal (every 6 months), or more often if your state chooses |
| Court-ordered service | Up to the state | Counts under the federal definition |
| Start date | In effect now | By January 1, 2027 (some states earlier) |
The child row is a common source of confusion. "Under 14" and "13 or under" are the same cutoff. The day your youngest turns 14, both rules can start to apply to you, unless you have another exemption.
The crossover rule: SNAP can get you out of Medicaid's rule
This is the most useful fact on this page. The Medicaid rule, at 42 CFR 435.554(c)(7), lists as excluded anyone who:
"is a member of a household that receives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits under 7 U.S.C. 2015 and is not exempt from a work requirement under such Act."
In plain words: if your household gets SNAP and SNAP's work rules apply to you, Medicaid's 80-hour rule doesn't. CMS explains in the interim final rule on Medicaid community engagement that this covers both of SNAP's work rules, the general one and the time limit. And your state "does not need to confirm that the individual is in fact compliant with SNAP work requirements."
Two catches:
- It only works one way. The Congressional Research Service notes that "SNAP law does not include a similar treatment for compliance with the Medicaid community engagement requirement." Meeting Medicaid's rule does nothing for SNAP.
- A SNAP exemption doesn't carry over. If SNAP has exempted you from its work rules, this Medicaid exclusion doesn't fit you. You'd need one of Medicaid's own exemptions instead. Read who is exempt from Medicaid work requirements.
What to do: If your Medicaid office asks you for hours and you get SNAP, say: "I'm in a SNAP household and SNAP's work rules apply to me. Can you check that with the SNAP office?" Your state is supposed to check its own records before asking you for anything.
How volunteering counts in each program
Both programs count volunteer work. They just describe it differently.
SNAP calls it "unpaid work, verified under standards established by the State agency," in the federal rule at 7 CFR 273.24. Your state decides which places count and what proof it wants. Many states use workfare math for volunteers: your household's SNAP amount divided by the minimum wage (federal or state, whichever is higher). That's often far fewer than 80 hours. Our SNAP volunteer hours calculator does that math. See how volunteering counts for SNAP for the details.
Medicaid counts "community service," which the federal rule defines as "unpaid work, completed voluntarily or because of a mandate by court order, with a structured program that is completed for the direct benefit of the community under the auspices of public or nonprofit organizations." The group has to oversee the work and track your dates, hours, and a contact person who can confirm them. Our page on what counts as community service for Medicaid walks through each part.
Court-ordered hours show the difference clearly. Medicaid's definition includes them by name. SNAP leaves it to the state. Washington, for one, says this about unpaid work: "Can't be counted if also used to meet court appointed or legal obligations."
How time limits and deadlines differ
SNAP gives you 3 months first. You can get SNAP for 3 full months in a 36-month period without meeting the rule. After that, benefits stop until you meet the rule again, become exempt, or a new 36-month period starts.
Medicaid has no free months. When you apply, your state can ask you to show you met the rule for 1 to 3 months right before the month you apply. When you're enrolled, the state checks at renewal, and renewals for expansion adults happen every 6 months starting in 2027. If the state can't confirm your hours, you get a notice and 30 days to show proof before coverage ends.
Hardship relief works differently too. SNAP has good cause for a short-term problem, plus area waivers where unemployment is over 10 percent. Medicaid lets states offer short-term hardship exceptions, including for counties where unemployment is at least 8 percent or 1.5 times the national rate. Medicaid's are optional, so ask whether your state uses them.
Exemptions that differ
Some exemptions match. Both leave out pregnant people, people in drug or alcohol treatment, and American Indians as federal law defines them. But several don't line up:
- Medicaid only: veterans rated 100 percent disabled by the VA, former foster youth, people on postpartum coverage, and people who were in jail or prison at any point in the last 3 months (those months count as met). Medicaid also leaves out people who are "medically frail," a list each state writes. SNAP has its own, different test: "medically certified as physically or mentally unfit for employment."
- SNAP only: people getting unemployment benefits, people in school at least half time, and people working 30 hours a week can be exempt from SNAP's time limit through the general work rule. For Medicaid, half-time school and 80 hours of work meet the rule, but they don't exempt you from it, and unemployment alone doesn't count.
Each program decides on its own exemptions. Being exempt from one tells you nothing certain about the other. Check both lists, and ask each office about its own.
Where Verified Hours fits
If you do need to prove volunteer hours to one or both programs, Verified Hours lets the nonprofit confirm your shifts and gives you a signed monthly letter with a QR code a caseworker can check. It's free for you and the nonprofit. A signed letter or your state's own form works just as well for most people, so use whatever your coordinator will actually sign.
What to do next
- Find out which SNAP rules apply to you. Ask your SNAP office: "Am I subject to the time limit or the general work rule?"
- Tell Medicaid if SNAP's rules apply. That may be all you need for Medicaid.
- If you're exempt from SNAP's rules, check Medicaid's exemption list next, and read how volunteering counts for Medicaid if none fits.
- Keep one log of every volunteer shift. The same record can serve both programs.
As of October 2026, both rules are still settling in, and states are writing their own forms. Two programs means two sets of letters, but it doesn't have to mean twice the hours. Ask the crossover question first.