Without HUSKY, CT loses jobs, money, and healthcare

It’s the right – and the financially smart – thing to do

Health insurance is supposed to be there to help pay for the cost of emergencies and routine care. It’s supposed to keep us from lifelong debt after having a baby, being diagnosed with cancer, getting in a car crash, or being hurt in an accident.

HUSKY, Connecticut’s name for Medicaid, keeps people who might not be able to afford healthcare insured. But unfair federal cuts threaten to take it away from up to 200,000 people. If that happens, hospitals will close, Connecticut will lose thousands of jobs, our economy will suffer, healthcare will get more expensive, and it will be harder for everyone to find care.

More than 900,000 people in our state had HUSKY last year. People use it to pay for annual check-ups, the birth of a baby, cancer treatments, and other care. Without it, moms, babies, children, seniors, and people with disabilities will be forced to choose between paying rent, buying groceries, and seeing the doctor when they’re sick.

Carrie, in Tolland County, told us HUSKY saved her family’s finances when she was diagnosed with cancer.

“HUSKY ensured that I received the medical care I desperately needed without being crushed by financial burden,” she said. “From doctor visits to treatment appointments, this coverage stood between me and medical debt that would have been impossible to overcome.”

The fact that HUSKY helps people and families is enough. But it’s also vital for our local hospitals, doctors’ offices, and economies, too.

Cutting HUSKY dumps people with lifelong debt

People who use HUSKY are more likely to have chronic health issues and need medical care than people who are on private insurance, which makes it harder to work a full-time job or at all. Connecticut residents on HUSKY are also more likely to have trouble accessing a primary care doctor because some doctors are allowed to turn patients away if they can’t pay for an appointment. When that happens, people can avoid or delay getting care. People may eventually be forced to go to an emergency room – where hospitals are required to treat you no matter if you have insurance or not – which can lead to an enormous medical bill.

Even if someone can afford to get routine care and take their emergencies, many people are one car crash, accident, stroke, or heart attack away from being buried in medical debt.

In Connecticut, a single hospital stay for a leukemia patient costs more than $113,000. That’s more than most people in our state make in a year.

“We went a couple of years without health insurance because we simply could not afford it,” Rachel, in East Granby, told us. “During that time, I happened to need an emergency surgery, so now I have medical bills I’m worried will go on my credit report.”

Rachel and her husband work two jobs to make ends meet for their family of five. They want to move out of their two-bedroom apartment because their landlord keeps raising rent, but thinks her medical debt will prevent them from qualifying for a mortgage.

HUSKY helps pay medical bills to prevent people from falling into debt that’s hard to get out from under. When you’re paying off debt, there’s much less money left over to pay for rent or a mortgage, food, and the essentials.

HUSKY cuts make healthcare more expensive for everyone

Emergency rooms are required to treat everyone who comes in, whether or not they have insurance or can pay. This saves lives. Everyone deserves life-saving care, no matter how much money they make. But when bills go unpaid because people don’t have insurance – or when insurance doesn’t cover what it should – hospitals go into debt.

It’s estimated that if 140,000 Connecticut residents lose HUSKY, then the state’s healthcare system will lose an extra $317 million from care they aren’t paid back for. Nationwide, it’s estimated that the coverage lost from the changes will be $31 billion by 2034. Hospitals that treat people who are low-income, and hospitals in rural areas, will be hit the hardest.

Leaders at Connecticut hospitals have said that if they see less from Medicaid, then they’ll have to get more money from commercial insurance companies, which means everyone’s premiums will increase. As the cost of rent, utilities, and child care continue to go up, more working class people will be forced to choose between going to a doctor or putting food on the table. This is unacceptable.

It’s already getting more expensive for hospitals to treat patients because of inflation and the cost of everything going up. Tariffs are making supplies and medication more expensive. Cutting HUSKY will make the situation worse and could lead to nurses losing jobs, doctors’ offices closing, and hospitals shutting their doors. Wait times may be longer, people might have to travel farther to get care, and prices will likely go up.

Losing HUSKY does not make people less sick. It only punishes them, the healthcare system, and everyone else for not being able to pay for it.

HUSKY strengthens our economy

HUSKY keeps our hospitals, doctors’ offices, and pharmacies running.

But it’s estimated that HUSKY cuts will cost our state’s economy $1.5 billion in 2026, and 8,200 jobs. Of those job losses, 4,500 are expected to be in the healthcare field.

HUSKY also helps people get healthy and back on their feet, strengthening our state’s workforce.

Connecticut’s economy needs doctors’ offices, healthy workers, and hospitals to survive. Ripping away HUSKY takes away healthcare, jobs, and penalizes people for getting sick, having a baby, getting hurt in an accident, or having a health emergency.

Protecting HUSKY is the right thing to do for all of Connecticut

As many as one in 10 people in some Connecticut cities and towns could lose their HUSKY health insurance, according to a new report from DataHaven, a Connecticut Project grantee. That’s unacceptable when the state can step in and protect coverage.

Health insurance protects people from a lifetime of debt and saves lives. It supports our economy, creates jobs, and keeps hospitals open. Connecticut can’t be strong if people can’t see a doctor when they’re sick, families can’t afford to have children, and residents are worried about the cost of care instead of healing.

Carrie urges lawmakers to fund HUSKY so that other cancer patients like her stay covered.

“These programs do not enable dependence – they ensure survival,” Carrie said. “They protect people when life becomes unpredictable, offering a chance to get well and rebuild.”

The Connecticut Department of Social Services is tracking changes to HUSKY and when they will happen. If you are currently using HUSKY, you should still receive your benefits until you hear otherwise.

Take action now to fight for HUSKY.