Testimony
to the Appropriations Committee at Friday’s hearing from the CT Health Policy
Project focused on the Governor’s cuts to Medicaid. Topping the
list
of concerns is the proposal to cut coverage for 34,000 working parents and
pregnant women. The last time CT cut HUSKY parents in 2003, the impact was
devastating to many CT working families. Our report,
In Their Own Words,
chronicled the impact on eight typical HUSKY working families including
Elizabeth from New Haven. Elizabeth worked full-time but as a long-term “temporary”
employee and so, was not qualified for health benefits. When she lost HUSKY,
she was no longer able to afford the medication that was controlling her high
blood pressure. A few months later she had a costly heart attack, and
consequently re-qualified for HUSKY as medically needy but only for six months.
After the six months ended, her coverage ended again, and she could no longer
afford both the original medication and others she needed to heal. Within a
month she had another, very serious heart attack. She again qualified for HUSKY
and, thankfully, she was still covered when the state restored funding the next
year. That year was far more costly for the state than it would have been to just
keeping Elizabeth continually covered, but the damage done to her heart and to her
family will last.
