by Karla Ciaglo
NEW HAVEN, CT – With Medicaid facing unprecedented cuts at the federal level, Connecticut is on the verge of a healthcare crisis that could devastate families, strain hospitals, and upend community health centers already struggling to stay afloat, officials said Monday.
Lawmakers, healthcare administrators, and advocates gathered Monday at Fair Haven Community Health Care for a roundtable discussion to address the potential consequences of these budget reductions, stress the urgency of action, and dispel widespread misconceptions about the program.
“Medicaid is often thought of as a program for people who don’t work, but that’s simply not true,” said Tiffany Donelson, CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation. “Sixty-six percent of Medicaid recipients are employed. They’re childcare workers, grocery store clerks, and home health aides. When we cut Medicaid, we are cutting the foundation that supports the workforce Connecticut depends on.”
Far from being a program that affects only the most economically disadvantaged, Medicaid serves 1.2 million Connecticut residents – a third of the state’s population – including low-income families, people with disabilities, seniors in nursing homes, and even middle-class individuals who lack employer-sponsored insurance.
“There is not a single district in Connecticut without Medicaid recipients,” Donelson continued. “Even in our wealthiest towns, people depend on this program. Yet we are watching a situation unfold that could dismantle that support overnight.”
Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon said that Medicaid is woven into the financial structure of the state’s healthcare system.
“Every hospital in Connecticut could not operate as it does without Medicaid,” he said. “Our nursing homes, our intermediate care facilities, all depend on it. If these cuts go through, it will devastate our healthcare infrastructure.”
Connecticut’s Medicaid system had been facing challenges long before federal cuts were proposed. Health centers, which provide care for more than 440,000 low-income residents, have already resorted to depleting cash reserves and freezing hiring just to remain operational. Last week, Connecticut’s Federally Qualified Health Centers filed a Declaratory Ruling Request with the Department of Social Services, arguing that the agency has failed to comply with both state and federal laws requiring reimbursement rates to reflect actual costs.
Sean Frick, CEO of the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut, addressed the strain that health centers have been under.
“We are already being forced to cut back on services due to underfunding,” Frick said. “If Medicaid funding is reduced even further, it will devastate healthcare access for the most vulnerable in our state.”
State leaders, including Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, discussed the fiscal constraints Connecticut is already facing. “We’re already at our spending cap,” Looney said. “Even a small cut in federal Medicaid reimbursement could throw our state budget into chaos.”
The effects of Medicaid cuts will be widespread, with hospitals, nursing homes, and community health centers uncertain about the future. Many Connecticut nursing homes depend on Medicaid funding, and further reductions could force closures, leaving thousands of elderly and disabled residents without care.
“We’ve already lost nursing homes due to financial pressures,” said Matt Barrett, president of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities. “If these cuts take effect, more will follow.”
Hospitals are also warning that reduced Medicaid reimbursements will push more patients into emergency rooms, further straining a system already struggling with staffing shortages and financial uncertainty.
The lessons learned about preventative health care from the COVID-19 pandemic were still fresh in many healthcare providers’ minds as they expressed fear that Medicaid cuts will lead to worsening health outcomes for those who rely on the program.
“When people lose access to primary care, they don’t disappear,” said Dr. Suzanne Lagarde, CEO of Fair Haven Community Health Care. “They show up in the emergency room, where hospitals are legally required to treat them. But ERs aren’t designed for routine care. That means sicker patients, higher costs, and an overwhelmed healthcare system.”
“Medicaid pays for two in five births,” said US Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District. “What happens before and after birth determines the trajectory of a person’s health for life. If we start cutting these services, we’re setting up entire generations for worse outcomes.”
DeLauro has been one of the most vocal opponents of the federal cuts, warning that the reductions wouldn’t just hurt Connecticut but would create ripple effects across the country.
“This isn’t a blue-state issue or a red-state issue – this is an American issue,” she said. “Speaker Mike Johnson himself represents a district where nearly half of his constituents rely on Medicaid. Yet here we are, fighting to protect a program that keeps people alive.”
Despite the looming threat, advocates and healthcare providers refuse to back down.
“We are releasing a story every week from a Medicaid recipient,” Donelson said. “We want Connecticut residents to see their neighbors, to understand why this matters. These are real people – not statistics, not abstract figures, but parents, children, workers, and seniors who rely on Medicaid to survive.”
DeLauro ended the roundtable with a warning: “This is not a policy debate. This is about whether people live or die. Every member of Congress who votes for these cuts should look into the eyes of the people they are hurting and explain why their healthcare isn’t worth saving.”