Sharon Langer, M.Ed., J.D.

HUSKY and Medicaid are pillars of Connecticut's health care infrastructure and the foundation upon which health care reform will be built. One in four children in the state relies on the HUSKY Program for preventive and comprehensive health care services. Any future cuts to HUSKY -- in the form of increased premiums and co-pays, reduced benefits, increased enrollment barriers, and eligibility restrictions -- would weaken this infrastructure and increase the numbers of uninsured.

Cuts to HUSKY are penny wise and pound foolish. The federal government currently is paying for almost two-thirds of Medicaid and CHIP costs in Connecticut. So to "save" $1 in state funds, policymakers would need to cut over $3 in HUSKY funding for children's health coverage. HUSKY cuts would result in more uninsured residents, who may forego preventive care, leading to more expensive emergency room visits and hospitalizations. These higher health care costs will simply be shifted to other areas of the budget (e.g., the uncompensated care pool), providers, low-income persons, and private insurers.

This candidate brief makes suggestions on ways in which state policymakers can help to maintain and improve health insurance coverage for Connecticut's children and families, including maintaining current coverage and benefit levels, determining how best to protect families from unaffordable cost-shifting in 2014 when some low income adults who are currently in Medicaid may no longer be eligible as a result of federal health reform, implement and expand upon the Department of Social Services' plans to "modernize" its processes for determining eligibility in HUSKY, and maximizing federal funding, and strengthening the network of providers who participate in HUSKY and Medicaid. (August 2010)

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