As the 2026 legislative session kicks off, there are a few policy areas we will be watching. These include:
Access to health care coverage
This year could be a turning point for Connecticut residents’ ability to access health care. We are particularly concerned about HUSKY, our state’s name for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
HUSKY covers more than one in five state residents. More than 100,000 Connecticut residents are at risk of losing HUSKY under HR1, the federal law passed last year.
There are steps our state can take to help keep as many people covered as possible.
These include:
- Ensuring that the state invests in the right infrastructure and systems to implement the new work-reporting requirements in the least burdensome way.
- Supporting on-the-ground messaging to inform residents about new requirements and assistance to help them take steps to stay covered.
- Putting in place reporting mechanisms so we can track the effects of new Medicaid eligibility requirements. Understanding whether people stay covered or not will help our state tailor interventions to keep eligible people covered and to address the needs of those who become uninsured.
>>> Read a fact sheet on Medicaid in Connecticut
>>> View and download shareable graphics with key messages to prepare people for changes to Medicaid
Sustainable funding for community health workers
Community health workers are trusted individuals who support people’s health by connecting them to care and services and helping them navigate the health and social service systems. Research is clear that these services improve health and save money.
Community health worker services will be more important than ever in the coming years, as state residents face new requirements to get and stay covered or lose their coverage. Community health workers can help people understand and complete new coverage requirements, use their coverage to get care, and find help if they are uninsured. In an era of health misinformation and deep mistrust, community health workers’ ability to build trusting relationships can be especially valuable in helping people navigate choices about their health.
Recognizing the value of community health worker services, Connecticut lawmakers in 2023 required Medicaid to cover community health worker services – something that more than half of other states now do. However, this law has not yet been implemented or funded.
>>> Read a fact sheet on community health workers
Maternal health
Connecticut is considered one of the healthiest states in the country, but we rank 37th in the nation for our rate of life-threatening complications related to pregnancy – a condition known as severe maternal morbidity. The situation is even more dire for Black women, who are twice as likely as their white counterparts to experience these life-threatening complications.
Last year, we worked with experts to develop a blueprint for maternal health equity in Connecticut. The blueprint aims to reduce severe maternal morbidity in Black women by 50 percent within three years and outlines a series of steps our state can take. We are eager to work with lawmakers to advance maternal health equity.
>>> Read the blueprint for maternal health equity in Connecticut