An anonymous donor has paid the $8,927 SNAP overpayment debt for an 84-year-old Houston woman after media reports revealed the bill resulted from an error by the Texas Health and Human Services agency (HHSC).
Jerralee King, who turns 85 next month, had been notified that the federal government could garnish up to 15 percent of her monthly Social Security benefits to recover the overpayment, according to a letter she received from HHSC and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. King receives about $1,300 a month in Social Security.
King said she was grateful for the SNAP benefits, which helped her as she relied on a fixed Social Security income. The letter about the error said she was not eligible to receive SNAP benefits during the three years she got them.
King, with help from a lawyer, appealed the letter but her challenge was denied. To try to pay off the debt, she began considering a job at a dress shop with a friend’s assistance.
Days after the broadcast, a viewer contacted the station and paid the full balance, requesting anonymity. The gesture brought King to tears, overwhelmed with gratitude that someone would help.
The letter that King received stated that it was a Notice of SNAP Overpayment Claim, and “The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has determined your household was overpaid SNAP benefits. The overpayment occurred as a result of AGENCY Error … causing the household to receive SNAP benefits they were not eligible for.”
In 2024, Texas reported a SNAP overpayment error rate of 5.77 percent, according to USDA data. The state's underpayment error rate was 2.55 percent, with an overall error rate of 8.32 percent.
Nationally, the overpayment rate was 9.26 percent for the same period, according to data.
While some cases involve intentional fraud, most overpayments result from unintentional recipient or agency mistakes, including caseworker or data entry errors.
In 2024, 25 states and the District of Columbia reported payment error rates of 10 percent or higher. Overpayments are the majority of errors, far exceeding underpayments.
In 2024, Alaska reported an overpayment rate of 22.5 percent. Washington, D.C., Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, and Massachusetts each had rates above 13 percent, according to USDA data.