The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Protect HUSKY and keep thousands of state residents insured
Last year, more than 350,000 people walked through the doors of one of Connecticut’s 17 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), looking for — and receiving — high quality medical, behavioral health and dental care.
Most of these individuals and families are enrolled in the state’s HUSKY program, which provides insurance coverage and access to health care for over 750,000 low-income Connecticut residents. In total, FQHCs in Connecticut treat approximately 30 percent of all HUSKY enrollees. We are proud to provide this care to people in urban, suburban and rural areas across Connecticut.
This is a population that needs protection, particularly in the times of a budget crunch here in Connecticut and uncertainty in Washington, D.C., over the future of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. These are largely lower-income people who depend on HUSKY for coverage for wellness visits, health screenings, dental care, treatment of chronic diseases like asthma and diabetes and more.
And right now, that coverage is facing some cuts that could have a devastating impact on those who need it the most.
Gov. Malloy’s budget proposes reducing HUSKY income limits for parents from 155 percent to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. For a parent with two children, this lowers the income limit from $31,139 to $27,725. This is bad news for those who can least afford it.
This cut could lead to approximately 9,500 individuals losing their HUSKY coverage, likely becoming uninsured. While they would have the option of purchasing qualified health plans from Access Health CT, those plans cover less and cost more. Health plans through Access Health CT include monthly premiums, deductibles before coverage kicks in (except for preventive care) and copayments for services. And the plans have no dental coverage for adults at all.
If the governor’s changes for HUSKY eligibility were to go through, people likely would either never bother purchasing a plan through Access Health CT; would purchase a plan, but not be able to keep up with the premiums; or would pay the premiums but seriously reduce their use of needed health care services for themselves and their families.
None of these are particularly desirable options.
FQHCs are here for those who need them, regardless of ability to pay, but our centers would feel the strain of these cuts to HUSKY. For example, a person no longer eligible for HUSKY who moves to a highdeductible health plan through Access Health CT would essentially be uninsured until racking up thousands of dollars in health care costs to meet the deductible. That’s considered “underinsured.” When a patient is uninsured or underinsured, they pay FQHCs for services on a sliding fee scale, which covers only a fraction of the cost of a visit — so the elimination of HUSKY payments for services to these patients will present a major challenge to the already fragile bottom line of FQHCs.
Gov. Malloy and the state Department of Social Services have worked hard in his time in office to ensure that the state’s most vulnerable population has that critical safety net to keep themselves and their families healthy and safe, and we certainly understand that in challenging economic times, shared sacrifice is often necessary. But in this time of near chaotic uncertainty at the federal level over the future — and very existence — of coverage for those in need, Connecticut should not be jumping in early to force people off of insurance coverage.
Lawmakers need to act to keep HUSKY eligibility at its current levels and reaffirm Connecticut’s commitment to our residents. The FQHCs are doing this every day, and we need for the state to be there with us. Joanne Borduas is CEO of Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington and Dr. Suzanne Lagarde is CEO of Fair Haven Community Health Center in New Haven.