As many as 110,000 Connecticut residents could lose HUSKY, the state’s Medicaid program, when new federal work-requirement rules take effect in January 2027
The rules, tied to the 2025 Republican-passed federal budget law, require HUSKY D enrollees to prove work, job training or community service every six months instead of once a year
Connecticut could lose several hundred million dollars or more in federal Medicaid funding if the projected coverage losses materialize, according to Federal Funds Information for States
As new federally imposed changes to Medicaid programs threaten to kick significant numbers of Connecticut recipients off their benefits starting in 2027, the state is poised to potentially lose billions of dollars in federal aid in the process.
Starting in January, as a result of the federal government’s Republican-passed budget in 2025, as many as 110,000 residents could lose coverage through HUSKY, the state’s Medicaid program, according to the Connecticut Mirror. About 939,000 residents in Connecticut receive HUSKY.
New regulations will require low-income adults without dependents to prove every six months, instead of yearly, that they work at least 80 hours or earn at least $580 per month or take at least 80 hours of classes, community service or training per month.
When a similar policy was instituted in Arkansas in past years, the Mirror reported, its work requirements cost the state more than $25 million to implement and employment did not increase in the state, refuting federal arguments that work requirements could reduce poverty by nearly 3 million people – and even those are “dependent” on conditions including “employment availability.”
Health care professionals told the Mirror that some people will lose coverage due to inability to comply with those new standards, but many others are poised to lose coverage because they can’t easily prove eligibility or miss the tightened scheduling window.
If those predictions hold, Connecticut is poised to lose hundreds of millions or even billions in federal aid, according to Federal Funds Information for States. Of the $10.4 billion in total grants the state receives from the federal government each year, 65%, or about $1,838, goes to Medicaid.
Using an average of $9,800 per enrollee and the federal government covering about 60% of program spending from USA Facts, more than $600 million in support is at risk as a low estimate.
This is expected to further squeeze the middle class, as governments would have to rely more heavily on property taxes to fund services while taxpayers send their funds to the federal government each year for less and less in return.
Connecticut sends more in taxes to Washington, D.C. than it receives, standing in the bottom third of states when considering federal revenue as a percentage of state-local revenue. The state is forced to rely more on state and local taxes to fund government services; these changes will worsen that impact.
Cuts to Medicaid support are expected to add up to $1 trillion in the next decade, pushing states to try to respond ahead of the curve. Rural hospitals are expected to be the biggest loser, Stat reported.
By Joe O’Leary
