Disability Advocates Sue State For Discrimination Against Disabled, Elderly In Husky Medicaid Program

by Jamil Ragland CTNewsJunkie

HARTFORD, CT – Plaintiffs and disability advocates announced Thursday morning at the Hartford Judicial District Courthouse that they are launching a lawsuit against the state of Connecticut to increase the income and asset limits for the state’s Husky Medicaid program. 

“Today we’re announcing a new lawsuit filed this morning against the Department of Social Services over the failure of the governor and the legislature to address ongoing financial eligibility discrimination against people with disabilities in the state’s Medicaid program, in violation of the state’s equal protection constitutional provision, which expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disability,” Sheldon Toubman, litigation attorney for Disability Rights Connecticut and lawyer for the plaintiffs, stated. 

Under current rules, the income limit for a single adult under Husky Parts A and D – which is for non-disabled, non-elderly residents – is $1,800 a month. Disabled residents and residents over 65 are served by Husky Part C, which has a much lower income threshold of $1,350 a month. Additionally, Husky C has an asset limit for recipients, while the other Husky programs do not. 

FILE PHOTO: State Rep. Anne Hughes, D-Easton, speaks at in the Labor and Public Employees Committee’s March 18 meeting. Credit: CTN

Rep. Anne Hughes, D-Easton, called the discrepancy in income limits for Husky Part C  “a leftover from a time when we didn’t see people with disabilities as fully human.”

“I am on the Human Services Committee, and it is our mission to dismantle the discriminatory systemic framework that are vestiges of when people with disabilities were – up until the 1970s – involuntarily sterilized, were institutionalized, and were stripped of civil liberties,” she said. “We have normalized and kept the status quo of some of those laws and policies. This is punitive, this is cruel, it is discriminatory, and it is indeed harmful, and if we didn’t have this lawsuit against the government, then we would have no way to kind of reconcile what we have inherited.”

The legislature addressed the discrepancy in income limits back in 2023, when it passed legislation to increase the income limits for Husky C to just over $1,800 a month. That change was supposed to take effect in October 2024. However, Gov. Lamont pushed to have the change removed prior to it taking effect, instead proposing a much smaller increase. The governor was successful, and the change was rescinded. 

There were residents on hand whose lives have been impacted by the discrepancy in eligibility as well. Laura Dierrico of Clinton is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. She lives with multiple sclerosis but is ineligible to receive care under Husky C because her Social Security Disability Insurance payments place her over the income threshold by just $76.

“I lost my balance due to my condition, resulting in two cracked front teeth,” she said. “For two long years, I lived with pain and embarrassment and was unable to access dental care. Finally, I was able to secure care credit through my dentist, which came with a hefty price of $4,000. With my limited income, I now face mounting late fees each month, further complicating my already precarious financial situation.”

Dierrico said that it is essential to recognize that her story is shared by many individuals with disabilities. 

“We are not asking for special treatment or for others to be denied care,” she said. “Rather, we are advocating for fairness and the right to access the health care that we need to live with dignity and health. The current system discriminates against those of us who need better health care coverage the most.”

Kathy Flaherty, executive director of Connecticut Legal Rights Project, Inc., addressed the asset limits aspect of Husky C.

“The other problem in addition to the income limits that’s being addressed by the lawsuit is the very low asset limits for the Husky C program,” she said. “Those asset limits were set in the 1970’s at $1,600 for a single person and $2,400 for a married couple. The price of life has increased significantly since the 70’s and the asset limits have never been changed. When we talk about forcing people to live in extreme poverty, they’re unable to save for any kind of unexpected expense. To say to people who may have been on Husky C or Med Connect, for the working disabled who were able to save a little more, well now that you’re retired you have to deplete all those savings so that you can qualify hopefully for Husky C.” 

In addition to the lawsuit, there is action being taken at the legislature to address the discrepancy again. HB 6911 would raise the asset limit from $1,600 for individuals and $2,400 for couples, to $10,000 for individuals and $15,000 for couples. 

James Bhandary-Alexander, legal director of the Medical Legal Partnership at Yale University, which is also helping to represent the plaintiffs, pointed out the absurdity of the current income limits for Husky C.

“Under the state’s discriminatory policy, people can lose access to essential Medicaid services, which Medicare does not cover, as a result of becoming disabled,” he said. “Just to repeat that last part, people can lose access to essential Medicaid services, which Medicare does not cover, as a result of becoming disabled.” The audience cheered, and he read the statement a third time to drive the point home. 

Spokespersons for both the Department of Social Services and the governor’s office declined to comment on pending litigation.