Nebraska SNAP recipients may face a new restriction on out-of-state purchases beginning Nov. 4, under a change announced by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
The state said the blocking feature is intended to help prevent fraud by stopping unauthorized transactions made in other states. The change applies to purchases made with Nebraska Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards.
Purchases covered by the change
DHHS said the restriction may apply to both in-person transactions and online orders. For online purchases, the blocking includes orders with delivery or pickup locations outside Nebraska.
- In-person purchases made outside Nebraska may be blocked.
- Online orders with out-of-state delivery locations may be blocked.
- Online orders with out-of-state pickup locations may be blocked.
The policy is based on the location of the purchase, delivery or pickup identified by DHHS. The agency described the change as a measure to prevent unauthorized use of SNAP benefits outside Nebraska.
Recipients will be able to turn off the out-of-state blocking feature, DHHS said. The feature will reset at the end of each month, meaning recipients who disable the restriction will have to address the setting again after the monthly reset.
Change begins in November
The change is scheduled to begin Nov. 4. Until then, Nebraska SNAP cards remain subject to the existing transaction rules. DHHS announced the change as an adjustment to how Nebraska SNAP cards handle purchases outside the state, rather than as a change to the SNAP benefit amount.
SNAP is the federal food assistance program administered in Nebraska by DHHS. The agency said the new location-based blocking is intended to limit fraudulent or unauthorized transactions while retaining an option for recipients who need to make purchases outside Nebraska.
