ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska’s federal food assistance program had the highest error rate in the nation for the fourth consecutive year, according to data recently published by federal officials.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, serves more than 66,000 Alaskans, or roughly 9% of the state’s population.

Alaska’s highest-in-the-nation 2025 error rate is based on an analysis conducted by federal officials. It coincided with Alaska’s ongoing failure to process SNAP benefit applications on time in the majority of cases.

The Alaska Division of Public Assistance, which is responsible for overseeing the federally funded program in the state, regularly takes weeks to process applications that should be processed in a matter of days.

Alaska erred in 23% of payments made in 2025, according to data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. That is the lowest error rate Alaska has reported since 2019, but still the highest in the nation.

Alaska’s error rate was 57% in 2022, 60% in 2023 and 25% in 2024.

Officials with Alaska’s Division of Public Assistance attributed the 2025 error rate to the application processing backlog, among other factors.

The state’s SNAP administration has been plagued by delays and errors since Gov. Mike Dunleavy eliminated funding for dozens of positions in the Division of Public Assistance in the 2021 budget. The problems in the system have led to ongoing litigation.

The state has been fined millions of dollars — nearly $12 million in 2024 and $4.6 million in 2025 — for its high error rates.

The Legislature has appropriated millions of dollars toward information technology upgrades and other changes meant to improve the state’s administration of the program. Recent data showed that hundreds of Alaskans still wait six months or longer for aid that should be rendered within a month.

Recent fines pale in comparison to potential future state costs under a Republican-backed bill signed into law by President Donald Trump last year, which will eventually impose cost-sharing of up to 15% of the value of SNAP benefits on states with high error rates.

The cost-sharing mechanism was part of a sprawling legislative package intended to subsidize GOP-sought federal tax breaks.

Alaska’s Republican U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski negotiated a reprieve that grants states with the highest SNAP error rates a delay in implementing those costs until 2029.

But if Alaska is unable to lower its error rate below 10% by then, it could be liable to pay more than $42 million for its SNAP benefits to the federal government beginning that year, according to data presented by the Alaska Department of Health earlier this year. The state would be liable for $28 million if the error rate is between 8% and 10%, and nearly $17 million if the error rate is between 6% and 8%.

There would be no new costs if the state reports an error rate of less than 6% — a feat that hasn’t been achieved in Alaska since 2014.

The Alaska Department of Health declined interview requests with Commissioner Heidi Hedberg and Division of Public Assistance Director Deb Etheridge. In response to questions sent in writing, spokesperson Mirna Estrada attributed the error rate to “the complexity of changing SNAP eligibility rules” and the delays in processing Alaskans’ applications.

The federal quality control rules classify benefits as erroneous if SNAP applications are not processed within the prescribed federal timeframe, which is set at 30 days for most applicants and one week for expedited requests, Estrada said.

“During periods when Alaska had significant workload backlogs, that had a larger impact on the state’s error rate,” Estrada wrote, adding that the department expects to improve its error rate as the case backlog is resolved. Estrada said that the Division of Public Assistance is “currently in an accelerated period of modernization.”

“While we expect the error rate to continue declining year after year, the most significant improvements will not be reflected until these modernization efforts are fully implemented. That work is scheduled for completion in 2028,” Estrada wrote.

The department has reported a backlog in processing food assistance applications since 2022, despite federal fines and a class action lawsuit intended to force the state to comply with federal timelines.

The recent error rate “does not mean the Division is unprepared to implement” the changes to federal law under the Republican-backed Big Beautiful Bill, Estrada said.

“HR1 implementation is a separate compliance effort with its own project plan, system updates, training, and testing,” she wrote.

That budget reconciliation bill also transferred some administrative costs previously shouldered by the federal government onto states, a change that is set to increase Alaska’s expenses on SNAP by nearly $11 million annually.

Some states are reportedly considering cutting their cost-share under the new law by reducing SNAP participation. Alaska officials said that’s not on the table right now.

“If a future state cost-share is required, that would be addressed through the state budget process. Decisions about appropriating state funds or making major changes to program structure would involve the governor’s budget and legislative process,” Estrada wrote. “The Department’s current focus is on reducing the payment error rate so Alaska can avoid or minimize any future state cost-share obligation.”

The Dunleavy administration has already overseen a significant reduction in the number of SNAP recipients in Alaska. When Dunleavy entered office in 2018, the average number of Alaskans receiving food assistance through the program every month exceeded 85,000. As of last year, average participation dropped below 65,000.

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