Connecticut stands to lose as much as $13 billion in Medicaid funding under the Trump administration’s federal budget passed by Republican lawmakers earlier this month, according to state officials.
The Department of Social Services provided a significant amount of information to lawmakers and the public regarding changes that the budget will impose on state services. Initial projections indicate the state will lose $13 billion in Medicaid support over the next ten years as a result of these policies, state officials predicted in CT News Junkie.
While the impacts of the budget will be phased in over years, obscuring some of the long-term impact of its policies, DSS reported its most significant changes would come through Medicaid. Adults ages 19-64 who rely on Medicaid for health insurance will be required to engage in 80+ hours of work or community service per month, or 20 hours minimum per week, to retain their coverage.
Under the budget, HUSKY D recipients will need to renew coverage twice a year and they will be forced to participate in cost-sharing for most forms of care. Tax credits supporting affordable insurance and provider taxes will also be reduced or ended, harming tax revenue for the state and limiting health care access.
Other changes are expected to compound the issue as Medicare cuts and food assistance changes kick more people off those programs. That’s expected to increase the state budget considerably.
Under the changes, individuals who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will also be expected to adhere to work requirements, with eligibility increased from 54 to 64. The Republican budget has also removed an exemption for military veterans, reduced an exemption for families with children, and eliminated exemptions for homeless individuals and younger people.
The budget also places new requirements regarding retroactive coverage and renewals for patients, with retroactive coverage reduced to one month for adults and two months for other enrollees, both down from a previously standard three months.
What will these changes mean for the state’s bottom line? The budget, which already promises to increase the federal deficit by trillions of dollars in coming years, will cost Connecticut anywhere from $84 to $173 million per year for SNAP costs and $70 to $150 million per year in Medicaid costs.
