This month’s advocacy resources include data on Medicaid and health disparities; recommendations for clinics to minimize the burden from work-reporting requirements; a report on how these requirements could inadvertently affect pregnant people; new data on how many students are covered by HUSKY; and where to find information about Medicaid.
Details on HR 1, updated guidance, and recommendations for clinics and providers
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing released a white paper on HR 1 (the federal law passed last year, sometimes known as the “big beautiful bill”). The paper includes information on the new work-reporting requirements for people receiving Medicaid coverage, as well as details on federal guidance that has been issued since the law passed. The paper also includes recommendations for clinics that are intended to help ease the administrative burden on patients and providers.
Pregnant people at risk of coverage losses under HR 1
The biggest changes to Medicaid under HR 1 – work-reporting requirements and more frequent eligibility checks – are not intended to apply to pregnant people. However, a new report from Urban Institute says there’s a risk that they might still lose coverage. In 2022, 9.1% of Connecticut Medicaid members who gave birth were covered under the Medicaid expansion category (known as HUSKY D in Connecticut) – the group that will be subject to the new requirements – even though there’s a separate coverage category for those who are pregnant or postpartum. The report offers suggestions for states, the federal government, advocates, and providers to minimize inadvertent coverage losses.
More than one in three CT students are covered by HUSKY
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are important sources of health care coverage for children and teens – and the Georgetown Center for Children and Families released new local data that shows just how vital it is. The data covers 2020 to 2024 and shows what share of children in each school district is covered by Medicaid or CHIP (both of which are known as HUSKY in Connecticut). In 18 school districts in Connecticut, more than half of students are covered by HUSKY. Statewide, 36.7% of students are covered by HUSKY. Some district-level data isn’t reported because of low reliability.
>>> See the data on HUSKY coverage by school district
Stay updated on what’s happening with Medicaid in CT
The Medical Assistance Program Oversight Council, or MAPOC, meets monthly to discuss issues related to HUSKY. The MAPOC website includes recordings of each meeting and presentations from the meetings (hint: look at both the council meetings and committees). It’s a great resource for keeping track of what’s happening on the state level. Recent presentations include an update from January on how the Department of Social Services is thinking about defining medical frailty (which is one of the conditions that would allow someone to be exempt from Medicaid work-reporting requirements) and an update from March on rural health transformation efforts (which are expected to be funded by more than $150 million in federal funds).
>>> Check out the MAPOC website
New fact sheets: Data on health disparities in Connecticut
We recently updated our fact sheets on health disparities. You can find data on asthma, cancer, diabetes, maternal health, as well as a fact sheet on health disparities overall in Connecticut.
>>> See our full topic guide on health disparities in Connecticut