Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts has blamed the Biden administration's Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) for $364 million in SNAP payment errors in Fiscal Year 2024, according to a letter from the USDA's USDA urging her to clean up the food stamp program in Massachusetts and bring its numbers back to "acceptable" levels. The letter, dated Feb. 8, 2024, stated that the DTA’s payment error rate, case and procedural error rate and application processing timeliness didn't meet “basic federal requirements” in FY22 under the Baker admin. Healey had slightly improved the state’�s SNAP payment error rates in FY23 during her first year as governor, bringing it from 11.7% to 9.86%. However, in FY24, after the federal state of emergency for the pandemic had ended, the payment errors rose to 14.1% - among the worst states in the country. The DTA reported that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government directed states to prioritize rapid access to benefits and implement waivers that reduced verification processes. Healy claimed that the state's payment error Rate is decreasing and that the payment error was decreasing.