DOWNLOAD THE FULL BRIEFING The health of all Connecticut residents is critical to our state’s future, yet too many residents face substantial barriers to being as healthy as possible. These barriers disproportionately affect people of color, and have created significant, long-standing — yet preventable — disparities in health outcomes.
As lawmakers prepare for the 2023 legislative session, we know there are a lot of issues to address. Our legislative briefing identifies steps that lawmakers can take now to make Connecticut a healthier state for everyone and make progress in reducing these disparities.
This legislative briefing includes information about three key issue areas, including:
- Getting more people covered: Having access to quality health care is still out of reach for far too many Connecticut residents. Although Connecticut has a low uninsured rate, there’s still more we can do to ensure that as many residents as possible have access to insurance.
- Supporting community-based health workers: Even when people have coverage, it can be difficult to navigate health services or social services. Community health workers can help people access services and reduce racial and ethnic disparities.
- Preventing coverage losses when the federal public health emergency ends: When the federal government declares an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency, thousands of Connecticut residents who are currently covered by Medicaid will need to verify their eligibility and many could inadvertently lose coverage. Legislators can help their constituents by providing information and monitoring the verification process.
This briefing also includes references to learn more about these three areas, as well as other organizations working on these issues in CT.
Authors: Stephanie Lomangino, Arielle Levin Becker, Samantha Haun