While in his Fiscal Year 2013 budget proposal Governor Malloy appears to be holding the line on access to coverage and care for children and parents in the HUSKY program, low income childless adults will not fare so well if the Governor’s recommendations for erecting barriers to qualifying for coverage and cutting back on benefits are adopted by the legislature. The fact that the Medicaid budget—nearly $5 billion—is not itemized makes it impossible for policymakers and advocates to track expenditures for services for children and families in HUSKY A.
- Governor Malloy does not propose any changes to eligibility levels or benefits for the 400,000 children, parents, and pregnant women in the HUSKY Health Program. However, funding for HUSKY B—Connecticut's Children's Health Insurance Program —is decreased from $42.6 million to $29.9 million without explanation of how coverage will change for about 15,000 children in the program.
- In April 2010, the Medicaid program was expanded to cover individuals with income under 56% of the federal poverty level without an asset test. The Governor now proposes to reduce eligibility for this group of low-income adults (HUSKY D) by imposing an asset test of $25,000.
- The Governor proposes further to reduce eligibility for young adults on HUSKY D between the ages of 19 and 26 by counting parents’ income and assets when the young adult lives with one or both parents, or when the young adult is claimed by the parent(s) as a tax dependent..
- The Governor’s revised budget also proposes to reduce funding by 10% for the 2-1-1/United Way HUSKY Infoline, which provides one-on-one assistance to HUSKY families in the form of program information and help in accessing coverage.
