When Claudia Gibbons was a kid, she would stand in line with her family as early as five in the morning for an appointment at Charter Oak clinic in Hartford. Seeing other people waiting like her just to get medical care put her on the path to become a medical professional.
鈥淚 saw so many honest, hard working people just really wanting to get health care and medical care, and that really touched me and pushed me forward to seek a medical profession,鈥� Gibbons said.
Gibbons immigrated to 黑料吃瓜网 from Peru with her family when she was nine years old. As an immigrant family, she said they were not eligible for any medical insurance, including .
鈥淲e lived in fear that we would ever get sick or get into a car accident and need to go to the hospital,鈥� Gibbons said. 鈥淚 remember being nine or 10 and hiding my cough, hiding my sore throat, just so that my parents wouldn't have the need to take me and spend the money they worked so hard for.鈥�
Today, she works as a physician assistant in emergency medicine at Middlesex Hospital. She is one of over 370 healthcare workers in 黑料吃瓜网 that signed a letter in support of that would expand the age of eligibility of HUSKY Health coverage for undocumented immigrants up to age 26.
According to Gibbons, a lot of undocumented immigrants do not seek preventative health care because they do not have insurance or the money to pay for it.
鈥淎 lot of times we are the first time they're seeking care for their chronic medical conditions, like untreated diabetes or hypertension, and so they're coming in to see us late and really very sick,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or them, it would be life changing to be able to prevent progression of their disease.鈥�
Gibbons helped deliver the letter supporting health care to Gov. Ned Lamont and other state representatives at the state Capitol Tuesday morning, asking to protect the current state-funded coverage, despite federal threats to Medicaid.
Providing coverage amid budget debates and federal threats
Currently, undocumented youth up to age 15 are eligible to get HUSKY Health coverage. This legislative session, advocates are pushing for the age limit to go up to age 26, as well as immigrants , for eligible undocumented immigrants.
The state covers the costs of HUSKY Health to provide coverage for undocumented residents who don鈥檛 qualify for Medicaid, the federal and state program that provides health insurance to people in low-income households.
However, recent in a budget proposal from U.S. Congressional Republicans could impact the state鈥檚 budget, meaning the state might have to use more of its own funds to close gaps left by federal cuts. The move could potentially affect the amount of state money available for health care coverage provided for undocumented residents through HUSKY.
The federal proposal would also penalize states like 黑料吃瓜网 that use state funds to offer health coverage for undocumented residents.
Democratic State Rep. Anne Hughes of Easton and Redding says the extension would stand up to the Trump administration鈥檚 anti-immigrant policies.
鈥淲e stand with your right to have preventative health care, not just emergency care and we know that it puts a target on the state's back. But if we are not fierce and bold, then what are we doing as lawmakers?鈥�
Measuring costs of care
For Fred Carstensen, the director of the University of 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 Center for Economic Analysis, the funding cuts coming from the Trump Administration are a serious concern.
鈥淚t's doing a lot of damage locally and it's doing a lot of damage nationally. It's doing a lot of damage to our reputation internationally,鈥� Carstensen said. 鈥淭o me, there's virtually no defense for it.鈥�
However, Carstensen said the state of 黑料吃瓜网 should be looking at its own data to determine the best solution for a potential expansion of HUSKY Health coverage for undocumented people.
鈥淚t could well be that the state would actually end up saving money by extending the coverage, because then these kids over 15 don't avoid medical service, and then they don鈥檛 have to have emergency service,鈥� Carstensen said.
Having better health coverage could help generate better economic outcomes, Carstensen said, because it encourages people to seek preventative health care, keeping costs low for them and for the state overall.
鈥淚f you don't have coverage, you don't deal with the problem when it's early and minor and can be dealt with,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou end up being taken in an ambulance, and you spend a week in the hospital dealing with something that you could have dealt with with an office visit, right? So one of the things would have cost a couple hundred bucks. The other one costs $15,000.鈥�
Though Carstensen said he believes health care ought to be viewed as a right and not as a privilege, he also believes, as an economist, that a hard analysis of the data around HUSKY Health funding and insured individuals is crucial.
Carstensen said the state needs to look at everything from the economic growth that the state can get from expanding coverage, to the scale of the issue around undocumented people without health care coverage and its impact on the rest of the state economy.
鈥淚f you really want to have a serious discussion about this expansion of the HUSKY insurance, you really need to have a deep dive. Is this good policy? Does this make good sense?鈥� Carstensen said. 鈥淚 think it's immensely important, but I think it has to be informed by good data.鈥�
