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The findings of the study will be used to help demonstrate to county and state elected officials the importance of continuing to provide adequate funding to those programs, especially in the face of anticipated cuts at the federal level, said Cris Weatherford, director of Jackson County Department of Social Services.

鈥淚t is so important to show that the Medicaid and Snap programs help all of us and also help generate tax dollars to use on other community needs,鈥� said Weatherford. 鈥淭he study shows that the whole of our community benefits from these programs. They provide jobs, tax revenue and additional spending in our county.鈥�

The study, titled 鈥淓conomic and Fiscal Impact of Medicaid and SNAP Benefits in Jackson County, North Carolina,鈥� was conducted by Steve Ha, professor of economics and director of the School of Economics, Management and Project Management in WCU鈥檚 College of Business.

For the study, Ha utilized IMPLAN, a popular analysis software program that examines inputs and outputs to calculate the ripple effects of economic decisions based on direct, indirect and induced effects.

鈥淭he input-output model helps estimate economic impact and understand how any impacts ripple throughout an economy,鈥� Ha said. 鈥淭he basic framework used for this study is centered on Jackson County, as it is the primary service area for the Jackson County Department of Social Services.鈥�

Ha entered dollar figures for goods and services purchased in Jackson County during the 2025 fiscal year into the software program, which then analyzed those dollars to understand the direct and secondary impacts of the Medicaid and SNAP programs on the local economy. 

Direct impacts refer to the dollars spent on goods and services that are available within the regional or local economy and that are 鈥渃learly and obviously traceable鈥� to Medicaid and SNAP, he said. Examples of direct effects include wages paid and supplies purchased by program recipients.

Those direct spending impacts spin off indirect and induced spending, often referred to in economics as the 鈥渕ultiplier effect.鈥� This phenomenon illustrates that every dollar received by business owners and employees is re-spent within the region, which then multiplies the impact of the initial sales and generates revenue in other sectors of the local economy, Ha said.

鈥淚ndirect secondary effects are the dollars generated by expenditures necessary to replenish goods or improve services that those direct or initial impact expenditures have purchased,鈥� he said.

鈥淚nduced effects refer to the dollars generated by local households as a result of the direct effects on them. Induced effects are the result of an increase in household spending by employees who are hired or current employees paid to work longer hours, thereby providing goods and services that are being purchased,鈥� he said.

Based on Ha鈥檚 analysis, the $770,000 invested by Jackson County government on the Department of Social Services for the administration of SNAP and Medicaid benefits resulted in a direct impact of $101,889,702 in economic benefit for the county, he said. Secondary benefits 鈥� including both indirect and induced effects of $21,467,787 and $21,018,316 鈥� totaled $42,486,103, Ha said.

鈥淔urther analysis revealed that, in total, 1,211 jobs are created or maintained annually that are associated with these effects in the region. Total labor income and value added to the area are $67,218,477 and $87,839,638, respectively,鈥� he said.

Ha also measured various tax impacts associated with Medicaid and SNAP benefits, looking at revenue generated for the federal government, as well as state and local governments, as a result of economic activities associated with the Medicaid and SNAP programs.

Federal tax revenue generated annually was $13,987,935, while state revenue generated was $3,112,911. Tax revenue generated annually for the county was $1,714,638, with another $108,518 in tax revenue for municipalities, he said.

The study鈥檚 findings should prove useful as Department of Social Services administrators advocate for funding to maintain and even enhance Medicaid and SNAP activities for the benefit of all county residents, Weatherford said.

鈥淲e want to educate the general community on the impact of these programs,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e also want to educate our county commissioners on the return on the investment we receive in Jackson County and encourage our county commissioners to continue and increase funding to these programs and the salaries of the workers who administer these programs.鈥�

The findings of Ha鈥檚 economic analysis should also be shared with elected officials in Raleigh, Weatherford said.

鈥淪tate legislators need to understand that the state also needs to fund these programs and not just allow what funds the federal government will approve for them. These programs could be stronger and improve outcomes in people's lives with more robust support,鈥� he said. 

Budget changes approved by Congress last year are expected to result in the federal government passing much of the cost to administer Medicaid and SNAP programs to the state, which will then in turn pass down additional costs to the county level, Weatherford said.

鈥淲e often think about these programs in terms of the numbers of recipients we help to access these programs, but in recent years, and as these programs become increasingly under threat, I have started to explain the total benefit of these programs,鈥� he said

鈥淲hat Dr. Ha did was far beyond what my social work brain could have ever done. It is so important to show that these programs help all of us and also help generate tax dollars to use on other community needs,鈥� Weatherford said. 鈥淚t reminds me that WCU is such an important partner to many of us, and we should always look for ways to collaborate to make our community better.鈥�