Semilla Collective members protest outside the state Capitol asking to expand HUSKY to undocumented immigrants in 2021. YEHYUN KIM / CTMIRROR.ORG
A bill that would extend Medicaid to a wider group of children and teens without permanent legal status in Connecticut has cleared a key hurdle, though the measure won’t cover as many people as proponents originally had hoped.
The Human Services Committee voted 14 to 8 to advance the proposal, which would expand Medicaid, known as HUSKY in Connecticut, to people 18 and younger regardless of their immigration status beginning Jan. 1, 2024. An earlier version of the bill would have extended the program to residents 20 and younger starting in January 2024, and then to those 25 and younger in June of that year.
“First and foremost, I do see this as a human rights issue,” said Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, a West Hartford Democrat who is co-chair of the committee. “These are residents of our state. They work and live here. They go to school with our children. And I think we should be doing everything possible to expand access to health care.
“Additionally, it makes good fiscal sense. We have medical debt in this state. We have heard from many a provider, the Connecticut Hospital Association [and Federally Qualified Health Centers] that this policy would help them financially, as they are already taking care of this population. We also know that many individuals who don’t have access to health insurance still end up in our emergency rooms.”
Sen. Matthew Lesser, the committee co-chair, said changing the bill to include those 18 and younger — instead of 25 and younger — garnered more support among legislators. The latest version directs the state’s social services department to study the possibility of further expanding Medicaid to age 26.
