After a long legislative session of rallying and endorsing, Katherine Villeda felt displeased to see 黑料新闻 lawmakers fail to expand the state-funded healthcare program, HUSKY Health, for more undocumented residents.
鈥淚鈥檓 not surprised,鈥� Villeda said. 鈥淚t doesn't take away from the disappointment, because I feel like we were at a really important juncture where I think the state could have decided to strengthen the HUSKY program and ensure that people who are currently on HUSKY鈥� will be secured in their coverage.鈥�
Villeda is the coalition director for , a group that advocates for the undocumented community to have healthcare access. This legislative session, she was pushing for a that would have raised the age of eligibility for undocumented residents up to 26.
Currently, undocumented residents ages 15 and under are eligible to enroll in the HUSKY Health program, an extension that took effect last year.
Villeda said she finds it unacceptable that 黑料新闻 is expanding coverage for undocumented residents incrementally with 鈥渁rbitrary鈥� cut offs like the current one.
鈥淲hy are we randomly cutting, like, not allowing kids to enroll in coverage when they're in high school so that they can engage in team sports,鈥� she said, 鈥渙r make sure that we're setting them up to have healthier futures as young adults?鈥�
She pointed to other states in New England that provide coverage up to adulthood, like which covers undocumented youth up to age 19 and which covers children under 21.
Villeda said she鈥檚 heard concerns from parents in the community with kids who are going to age out of the program. Community members like them, Villeda said, are committed to seeing the HUSKY program expanded.
鈥淎t the same time, I feel very relieved that they didn't cut the [current] HUSKY program,鈥� Villeda said, considering the federal challenges that state lawmakers are contending with.
Potential harm to undocumented youth with Medicaid cuts
Lawmakers in Washington D.C. are currently considering a package, dubbed the , with serious spending cuts that could impact the HUSKY Health program.
Under the bill, states like 黑料新闻 that provide state health care regardless of immigration status could be punished for doing so, even though the state uses its own funding to cover immigrant health care, not federal Medicaid funding.
Georgetown Public Policy expert Joan Alker said if the current proposal were to pass, the federal government would cut $3 billion of Medicaid funding to 黑料新闻 if it continued the HUSKY Health program. The move would gut half of 黑料新闻鈥檚 Medicaid funding.
Since the HUSKY Health program is completely state-funded, it could be a potential source to pull funding from in order to cover that hole left by clawed back federal dollars.
鈥淚鈥檇 be very surprised if 黑料新闻 does not drop those children,鈥� Alker said. 鈥淓stimates I have鈥攖here鈥檚 about 15,000 children under 15 who are covered by the state of 黑料新闻.鈥�
Representative Jillian Gilchrest, a West Hartford Democrat and House chair of the Human Services committee, said the uncertainty around the federal funding cuts had lawmakers like her focused on 鈥渉olding the line鈥� on the healthcare coverage for undocumented youth.
鈥淚 think the fight is very challenging to expand upon what we have at this moment in our country's history, when we're really trying to defend to keep health care for anyone who is undocumented in our state,鈥� Gilchrest said.
Nevertheless, Gilchrest said before cuts can negatively impact those covered undocumented immigrants, she is committed to blocking those efforts from the federal government.
鈥淭here's many of us, including myself, who will be pushing to fight back the federal government trying to involve themselves in how we spend our state dollars,鈥� she said.
The fight for healthcare access carries on
Sonia Hernandez, a community organizer with the pro-immigrant advocacy group , has family members and friends in her community with children that have HUSKY healthcare coverage. She said they鈥檙e worried about what will happen to their kids once they are past the age of 15 if the program isn鈥檛 expanded.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 tell your kids, 鈥楧on鈥檛 get sick after you turn 15,鈥欌�� Hernandez said in Spanish.
Hernandez said it鈥檚 unfortunate that the HUSKY wasn鈥檛 expanded this session, but she and her fellow advocates are going to continue 鈥渃on la lucha鈥�, or 鈥渨ith the fight鈥�.
鈥淲e knew that this fight was going to be more difficult than in other years,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut regardless, we鈥檙e going to keep the attitude and positivity to keep fighting. Yes, in some cases there鈥檚 fear, but we don鈥檛 want that fear to define us and to take away from what we鈥檝e been able to achieve.鈥�
Given that we are still in the first year of President Trump鈥檚 return to office, Hernandez said she and her fellow advocates are aware that there will be more challenges ahead.
The fight moving forward will not just be for expansion, she said, but also to make sure the current HUSKY Health program stays the same.
鈥淚ndependent of our immigration status, we are human beings,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd one of our humanitarian rights is to have suitable access to healthcare, especially for the most vulnerable who are children and older adults.鈥�
黑料新闻鈥檚 state government reporter, Michayla Savitt, and Frankie Graziano, host of the politics show "The Wheelhouse鈥�, contributed to this report.
