Sharon Langer, M.Ed., J.D.

A new research report finds that thousands of parents currently enrolled in Connecticut’s HUSKY health insurance program will go without health care as a result of the Governor’s proposal to cut eligibility for parents.  The Governor has proposed to eliminate HUSKY eligibility as of January 2014 for parents with family incomes between 133% and 185% of the federal poverty level ($25,975 to $36,131 for a family of three).   The Malloy administration expects that the 37,500 currently insured parents in this income range who lose HUSKY coverage would pay for coverage on the new health insurance exchange when this exchange is up and running in 2014.

The Connecticut Health Foundation commissioned researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Center for Health Law and Economics to assess the impact of these cuts on parents.  According to the researchers, between 7,500 and 11,000 currently insured parents would not be able to purchase coverage due to the costs of premiums and therefore become uninsured. (In addition, according to information provided by the Department of Social Services to the legislature’s Appropriations Committee last week, another 5,600 new applicants will not obtain HUSKY A coverage in Fiscal Year 2014 if this proposal becomes law.)

The analysis also shows that many of the parents who do purchase coverage on the exchange will forego health care due to unaffordable out of pocket costs, including premiums and co-payments. Currently, HUSKY parents pay no premiums or co-pays, and have access to services not generally covered by commercial plans (e.g., transportation to medical appointments, routine dental and vision care; access to behavioral health services is more limited under commercial plans). This means that on average a family’s costs would go from $0 to $1,800 per year.  The sicker the parent, the more he or she will have to spend on purchasing necessary health care.  In the event the parent cannot afford the deductible or co-pays, they are likely to forego care.  The analysis also summarizes extensive research on the potential impact on children’s coverage.  Although the children of these parents will remain eligible for HUSKY A, “children are less likely to have health insurance coverage if their parents are uninsured”.  This is true even when children remain eligible for Medicaid :  “Children eligible for public health insurance are less likely to be insured if their parent or parents are uninsured.”

The goal of the federal Affordable Care Act is to increase coverage and access to care for all our residents.  Connecticut has done a better job than most states at expanding access to coverage.  In 2007, we aligned the income eligibility levels for parents and children at 185% of the federal poverty level to simplify enrollment and to encourage uninsured families to apply.  As a result, in the last six years, many more parents and children gained access to needed health coverage in a difficult economy.   As we pointed out in our statement in response to the new research, adopting the Governor’s proposal to roll-back eligibility for parents on HUSKY A rolls back these gains in coverage and access for low-income working families.  It shifts costs from the state on to families that cannot afford them.  The results of the Connecticut Health Foundation’s new report make it clear that we need to stay the course and keep low-income parents covered under HUSKY.

Issue Area:

Health

Comments »

Sharon Langer, M.Ed., J.D.

Advocates for children and families breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision upholding the constitutionality of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA).   As a result of the decision, many protections for children remain in effect:

• Insurers may not discriminate against children based on pre-existing health conditions; insurers cannot impose life-time caps on insurance coverage.
• Funding for HUSKY B coverage for children (the Children’s Health Insurance Program) remains in effect at least through September 30, 2015 and children’s income limits under HUSKY remain in effect until 2019.
• Young adults up to age 26 can stay on their parents’ employer-sponsored health insurance plans.  As of December 2011, 23,000 young adults gained insurance coverage as a result of the health care law.
• In 2014, low-income adults with income up to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level will be able to gain coverage in Connecticut through the Medicaid program.  Initially, the federal government will pay 100% of this Medicaid expansion, and over time the state will pick up at the most 10% of the cost of covering these adults.  Under the Court’s decision, if a state opts out of expanding Medicaid to cover low-income adults, the federal government cannot withhold federal reimbursement for other parts of the state’s Medicaid program as the law intended.  However, it seems unlikely that most states will pass up a chance to cover a large segment of the uninsured (almost half of those eligible for coverage were expected to gain it through the Medicaid expansion) when the federal government will be picking up the tab.

Now that the legality of the law is resolved Connecticut can continue to move forward on implementing health reform by, for example:

• establishing a health insurance exchange, deciding whether to create a “basic health program” (as permitted under the ACA) run by the State but funded by the with federal dollars as a more affordable alternative to coverage through an exchange for certain low-income adults (with income between 133% and 200% of the federal poverty level),
• continuing efforts to improve coordinated care in its HUSKY program, and
• instituting outreach and enrollment practices that ensure that families get on and stay on coverage programs.

Also see CT Voices for Children’s statement on the Supreme Court ruling.

Issue Area:

Health

Comments »