On Medicaid's birthday, let's protect our care.
With thousands of CT residents at risk of losing HUSKY healthcare, our state has to protect people.
This week, Medicaid, known as "HUSKY" in Connecticut, turns 61 years old. For decades, HUSKY has ensured thousands of working class adults, seniors, people with disabilities, babies, and children could get the healthcare they need. It allows people to see a doctor when they’re sick, get healthcare throughout pregnancy and for new babies, get regular check-ups, afford medication, and go to the hospital.
But for thousands of Connecticut residents, the future of their HUSKY healthcare is in jeopardy due to cuts and changes made by the federal government.
H.R. 1, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," makes changes to who is eligible for Medicaid. Under these changes, more than 100,000 Connecticut residents are expected to lose their HUSKY healthcare coverage. H.R. 1's cuts and changes to Medicaid are also anticipated to cost Connecticut nearly half a billion dollars by 2028, and even more in the long term.
On July 30, 2026, Coralys Santana, The Connecticut Project's campaign manager, spoke at an event honoring Medicaid's sixty-first birthday, where she pushed for our state to do more to protect people from the changes that are coming.
Here is what she said:
Hello. My name is Coralys Santana, and I am the campaign manager for The Connecticut Project.
Every person should have healthcare. Period.
As an organization that fights for Connecticut to work for working class people, though, we know that thousands of people in our state are having to choose every day between seeing a doctor and putting food on the table. Working class Connecticut residents are choosing between keeping the heat or air conditioning on or paying for their prescription. Between seeing their own doctor, or making sure their kids do.
Medicaid, or what we in Connecticut call HUSKY, is a literal lifeline for working class people. More than 900,000 people in Connecticut get healthcare through HUSKY, including more than 366,000 children. So, we celebrate Medicaid’s birthday today.
More importantly, we celebrate the people who are alive to celebrate their own birthdays because Medicaid exists.
We’re thinking about Theresa in New Britain, who told us: “HUSKY allowed us to see doctors we needed, especially when we had to deal with cancer. We are elderly individuals who have worked all our lives. Social security doesn’t cover everything. There were extreme events that wiped out our savings, especially during COVID. We needed [HUSKY] to help us through.”
We’re thinking about Beth in Groton, who said: “[HUSKY] helped and paid for the birth of one of my children. I was able to keep up with dental work. It covered my eye doctor and my glasses. We need healthcare. FREE healthcare. No one should starve or die from lack of medical care.”
We’re thinking about Devon in Salisbury, who said: “When I have struggled, [HUSKY] has helped me keep my head above water. I recently started using it after losing my job. For about ten years, I had employment that afforded decent insurance. But now is a time in my life that I need the extra help until I get on my feet again … Without [HUSKY], I wouldn’t be able to afford my medication for my major depressive disorder and ADHD, which are important because I am a single mom of a two year old. I need to be well to take care of her and keep her well. I can’t afford to see a doctor without it.”
Theresa, Beth, Devon, and thousands of others have relied on Medicaid. But the federal government has placed Medicaid under attack. Tens of thousands of Connecticut residents, in every part of our state, are at risk of losing their HUSKY coverage in the next year because of federal cuts and changes. In some Connecticut towns, one in ten residents are at risk of losing their HUSKY.
Connecticut didn’t create this problem. But our state must protect people’s healthcare now. Working class people are the backbone of our state. Connecticut must act with urgency to protect our healthcare.
