By
ERIC STONE/Alaska Public Media
Alaska’s food assistance program had the highest payment error rate in the country for a fourth straight year last year, according to rankings put out by the Agriculture Department late last month.During the last federal fiscal year, which ended in September 2025, 23% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in Alaska ended up with significantly more or significantly less in benefits than they should have, according to the federal report. The national average was 11%.Alaska’s 2025 rate is down slightly from the 25% error rate in 2024 and down sharply from 2023 and 2022, when more than 55% of payments were in error. The vast majority of the errors were overpayments.The Division of Public Assistance declined an interview request, but in a written statement, the agency said the error rate doesn’t tell the whole story.
“While the rate remains higher than we want it to be, the trend is moving in the right direction, and DPA is continuing to implement its federally approved investment plan to improve payment accuracy over time,” Department of Health spokesperson Mirna Estrada said in an email.
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