Earlier this year, Congress and President Obama approved the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The latter legislation is commonly known as the “federal stimulus package”. The new laws offer opportunities for Connecticut to improve coverage for children and families and provide much-needed federal fiscal support for the state’s HUSKY program. The federal stimulus package includes $1.32 billion in new federal Medicaid funding for Connecticut. However, proposals by Governor Rell to impose premiums on adults in HUSKY A (Medicaid) and eliminate “self-declaration of income” for HUSKY applicants may mean that Connecticut would not be eligible to receive the additional federal funds.
This brief explains how Connecticut can take advantage of the federal funds to improve HUSKY and how the state can qualify for federal “bonus funds.”
