Connecticut Governor outlines plan to shield Medicaid recipients from new federal work rules
Gov. Ned Lamont announced steps Connecticut will take to preserve Medicaid coverage for residents as federal work and community-service requirements take effect on Jan. 1, while stopping short of pledging additional state funds.
Governor Ned Lamont and state officials convened in Stamford to detail Connecticut’s response to upcoming federal Medicaid reforms that impose work-or-service conditions on HUSKY D enrollees starting Jan. 1. Lamont criticized the federal move as adding bureaucracy and said the state will resist it, though he did not commit new state spending beyond the $115 million already allocated from an emergency response fund to replace expired ACA subsidies.
The Department of Social Services, led by Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves, is creating an “ex parte” verification process expected to cover about two-thirds of the more than 300,000 adults in the program, allowing eligibility checks without enrollee action. Exemptions will be available for those deemed medically frail, such as individuals with blindness, disability, chronic substance use disorder, cancer or HIV, provided the condition significantly impairs work capacity. Stamford mayor Caroline Simmons and Stamford Health’s Ben Wade promoted the HUSKY Stay Covered Task Force as a model for other municipalities.
Why it matters
The plan determines whether hundreds of thousands of low-income Connecticut adults will retain Medicaid coverage under new federal rules.
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