SNAP OVERPAYMENTS
IMPORTANT REMINDER
The information provided on this webpage is not legal advice. All content is for general informational purposes only. For more information about resources for legal help, or if you have questions about the information provided here, contact Nebraska Appleseed’s Community Assistance Line.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU ARE DEALING WITH A SNAP OVERPAYMENT
When someone receives more SNAP benefits than they are actually eligible for, this is called an overpayment. Sometimes overpayments occur due to mistakes made by the person applying, sometimes they occur due to mistakes made by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and (rarely) overpayments occur due to fraud.
OVERPAYMENT DEMAND LETTERS
No matter how the overpayment was caused, if you receive a demand letter for a SNAP overpayment, it is important to act quickly. A demand letter usually looks like this:
FILING AN APPEAL
One option when dealing with a SNAP overpayment (or any time you think the Department of Health and Human Services made a mistake) is to file an appeal. Nebraska Appleseed has compiled a guide to filing an Administrative Appeal with Nebraska DHHS.
COMPROMISING AN OVERPAYMENT
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “COMPROMISE” A SNAP OVERPAYMENT?
You are allowed to request that DHHS “compromise” an overpayment (in other words, ask DHHS to reduce the amount owed) if it can be reasonably determined that your household’s economic circumstances dictate that the accounts receivable will not be paid in three years. You can even ask them to eliminate the overpayment entirely by reducing the amount owed to $0. Nebraska Appleseed has drafted a template letter to DHHS requesting a compromise of an overpayment.
This template letter can be used if you are concerned about experiencing financial hardship when repaying a SNAP overpayment.
To complete this template letter, follow these steps:
- Fill in the highlighted sections with information relevant to your circumstances and overpayment. Remember to remove the yellow highlights after you fill in your information!
- It will be helpful to have your Demand Letter on hand to refer back to. If you have already made some payments towards your overpayment, it will also be helpful to have the most recent Account Statement from DHHS. If you can’t find these documents, they should be available on the DHHS portal.
- Consider including a Financial Summary with your letter – see the last page of the template letter for a template Financial Summary. If you have regular expenses that aren’t paid on a monthly basis, it is ok to estimate a monthly amount For example, if you have a pet and it costs $120 to take them to the vet once every year, it would be reasonable to include that as a $10 monthly expense, in addition to more regular expenses for pet food.
- Once you have written your letter it might be helpful to have a friend or family member look it over before you send it to DHHS. Try to be clear, and also try to keep it short.
To send your letter to DHHS, follow these steps:
- Print out your letter (including the Financial Summary) and keep a copy for yourself!
- Mail your letter to the address listed in very small print on the final page of the Demand Letter from DHHS:
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
Attn: Issuance and Collection Center (ICC)
PO Box 95026
Lincoln, NE 68509 - If you have not heard back from DHHS in a week or two, call 877.232.0242 to follow up. Have your Demand Letter and your compromise request letter on hand to refer back to during your phone conversation.
SNAP OVERPAYMENT RESOURCES
For more information about SNAP overpayments, Nebraska Appleseed has compiled a guide on SNAP overpayments and collections in Nebraska that explains:
- How to reduce your chances of an overpayment.
- The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services process to collect an overpayment.
- Your rights throughout the process.
Watch this short video (captioned in Spanish) that similarly explains Nebraska SNAP Overpayments and Collections in a lighthearted tone.