Health care providers: Expand HUSKY to undocumented immigrants

The letter below has been signed by over 400 health care providers in Connecticut who believe that eligibility for HUSKY, Connecticut’s Medicaid program, should be extended to undocumented members of our community.

In 2021, the Human Services Committee of the CT legislators approved a bill to expand HUSKY to ALL immigrants in CT, regardless of age. Ultimately in 2021, the entire CT Legislature approved a bill expanding HUSKY to undocumented kids 9 years old and under, which will go into effect in 2023. This means that when kids turn 9, they will lose access to care. This is immoral. We are encouraging lawmakers to pass legislation to expand HUSKY to all undocumented minors under 18 THIS YEAR, and to keep fighting so that all CT immigrants are able to access healthcare, no matter their age.

If you are a CT health care provider and would like to support this effort, you can sign the letter here.

Connecticut General Assembly Human Services Committee
Co-chair State Senator Marilyn Moore
Co-chair State Representative Catherine F. Abercrombie

Re: Health care providers support HUSKY expansion to CT residents without regard to immigration status

Dear Senator Marilyn Moore and Representative Catherine F. Abercrombie,

We write to you to express our strong support for legislation that would expand 2021 legislation for HUSKY eligibility to all low-income CT residents, without regard to immigration status. We recognize expanding access to the undocumented immigrant population who have been excluded will be a long-term process. This session we urge the Connecticut state legislature to support SB284 to expand Medicaid to children 8–18 years of age with inclusion of funding for this program in the budget. We also fully support H.B. 5133 and future bills that would expand Medicaid to ALL undocumented adults living in Connecticut.

As health care providers, we recognize our responsibility to care for all patients, regardless of race, income, or immigration status. Unfortunately, our state laws do not reflect that same commitment. While the uninsured rate in Connecticut is roughly 5.9%, an estimated 52% of undocumented immigrants in our state are uninsured. Undocumented immigrants are excluded from participating in HUSKY, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents, or from purchasing private health insurance on Access Health CT, the state marketplace established by the Affordable Care Act. Our laws have eliminated the pathways to reliable health insurance for undocumented individuals. Instead, immigrant communities are forced to rely upon under-resourced clinics and emergency care through hospitals. We as health care providers have all seen the consequences when our patients’ illnesses go untreated, causing catastrophic complications and, it is important to note, requiring expensive hospital-based care that is ultimately supported by the state. These consequences are preventable, but the prescription must be written at the level of state policy.

Connecticut has already begun to recognize the moral responsibility and sensibility of making sure all communities in the state have access to health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Connecticut has used Emergency Medicaid funds to cover COVID-19 testing and treatment for residents who didn’t qualify for Medicaid based on immigration status. This not only removed barriers to receiving preventive care and treatment, but also prevented COVID-19 spread in our communities. Further, the state passed bi-partisan legislation to declare racism as a public health crisis. There is no clearer path to begin addressing systemic inequities in our healthcare system than to provide health insurance for undocumented children and their families — the vast majority of whom are persons of color.

As health care providers, we understand the devastating human consequences of restricting access to health care. We ask you to support legislation that would remove immigration status from HUSKY eligibility rules and would expand healthcare access to our most vulnerable community members. We thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

Signed,

Laura Nally, M.D.
Julia Rosenberg MD MHS, Pediatrician at Yale
Patricia Faraone Nogelo, LCSW
Lou Hart, MD, Yale New Haven Health
Shannon O’Malley, MD
Ralph Rosenberg MD
Rebeca Vergara Greeno, MD Student, Yale School of Medicine
Eden Almasude, MD
Alice Shen, MD
Nientara Anderson, MD, MHS
Claire Gibson, MD, Yale University
William Coe, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine
Oby Ekwueme, MD MPH
Molly Markowitz, MD
Demiana Joy Azmy, MD
Alexandra Ashinoff, MD
Gunjan Tiyyagura, MD, MHS
Fabiola Molina, MD National Clinician Scholars Program/Yale School of Medicine
Kristen Obiakor, MD, MS Yale pediatric resident
Sangini Sheth, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine
Karen Wang, MD MHS, Yale School of Medicine
Ohm Deshpande, MD
Mehr Mathew, MD
Adam Berkwitt, MD, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital
Michael Mensah MD MPH
Max Rolison, MD
Daisy Leon-Martinez, MD, Yale Ob/Gyn
Lauren Baron, MD, MPH&TM
Brita Roy, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine
Sherab Tsheringla, MD
Jaspreet Loyal MD
Cary Gross, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Frances Cheng, MD, PhD, Yale School of Medicine
Reshma Ramachandran, MD, MPP, Yale National Clinician Scholars Program
Robert Rock, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Faith Danielle Crittenden, MD MPH
Mahnoosh (Mona) Sharifi, MD, MPH
Maniya Kasaiyan MD
Joseph S. Ross, MD, MHS, Yale University
Keith Gallagher, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University
Ammarah U Iqbal, MD MPH, Yale New Haven Hospital
Erin Nozetz, MD
Kimberly Hieftje, PhD
Avital Ludomirsky, MD, MPP, Yale National Clinician Scholars Program
Sarah Vaughan, APRN, Hillhouse High School Based Health Clinic
Abigail Wilpers, PhD, WHNP
Leslie E. Sude
Ada Fenick, MD
Daniel Glaser, MD, MPH Yale School of Medicine
Angela Richard-Eaglin, DNP, FNP-BC, CNE, FAANP
Michele Buonora, MD MS, Yale University School of Medicine
Jasmine A. Khubchandani, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Marietta Vazquez, MD
Karen Reilley, C-PNP, YNHH School Based Health Center
Maryellen Flaherty-Hewitt, MD
Ayibatari Sikpi, MD
Anna Delamerced, MD Yale Pediatrics
Hilda Slivka MD
M. Alex Geertsma, M.D. CHC, Inc/Weitzman Institute
Susan K Ratzan MD Professor Emerita UConn School of Medicine
Gary Soffer MD, Yale School of Medicine
David L Brown, MD, Connecticut Childrens and ProHealth Physicians
Alexis L. Rodriguez, MD Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital
Lee Hoffman MD
Leonard Banco, MD
Jennifer Haile, MD
Mark A. Greenstein, MD, Professor Emeritus, UConn School of Medicine
Carol Dorfman, MD
Andrea Devaris, MD
Hazar Khidir, MD
Cenk Tek, M.D.
Emma Lo, MD
Robert D. Beech, MD, PhD
James P. Rosen, MD
Camille Brown MD
Nichole Roxas MD MPH
Paul L Aronson, MD, MHS, Yale School of Medicine
Salah Almohammed, MD
Antonio Riera, MD
Nishant Pandya MD MPH
Alan Friedman, MD
Sonia Caprio MD
Julie Flom, MD MPH
Kirsten Bechtel MD
Stephanie Sudikoff, MD, MHA
Richard Martinello, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Leslie M. Harris, MD, Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital
Deepa Camenga, MD
Gauthami Soma, MD
Vinita Misra Knight, MD, MPH
Pamela Hu MD
Susan D Boulware
Shannon Martinello MD, FAAP
Angela Zeigler MD PhD
Ashley Cozzo
Catherine Dinauer, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Kristin Reese, MD, Yale Pediatrics
Carl Baum, MD
Emma Taylor-Salmon, MD
Karla Boyd MD MA
Elana Cook, MD MS
Hannah Fuson, MD
Jeremy Asnes, MD
Francine Testa, MD Yale School of Medicine
Isabella Joslin, MD, Yale Children’s Hospital
Rahul Shah, MD
Angela Tichon MBA
Marc Auerbach MD, Msci, Professor Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine
Melissa Langhan, MD MHS, Yale University School of Medicine
Victoria Lewis, MD, MSW, MPP
Ashley Starr Frechette, MPH, CCADV
Nicholaus Christian, MD, MBA
Ruchika Jones, MD, Connecticut Children’s
Vanessa Perez MD, MLS (ASCP)
Luba Margai, MD
Daniel Kerekes, MD
Dorothy Stubbe, MD (Yale Child Study Center)
Erin Morelli, MSN, CNM, Yale School of Nursing
Jordan Quintin, RN — Yale School of Nursing
Stephanie Stamatis, PA-S, Yale School of Medicine
Ashlyn Shavers, PA-S
Allison Shilanski, PA-S, Yale School of Medicine
Michael Cheng, RN — Yale School of Nursing
Shayla Partridge, RN, Nurse Practitioner Student
Amanda Mummery, PNP Student
Kristen Nocka RN MPH (Yale School of Nursing)
Renata Ndahayo, Yale School of Nursing
Nadia Saeed, MD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
May Shum, MS5, Yale School of Medicine
Mansen Yu, Yale School of Medicine
Kelsey Rankin, Yale School of Medicine
Vickie Wang, MD Student, Yale School of Medicine
Casey Grun, MD/PhD Student, Yale School of Medicine
Calvin Fang, MD PhD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
Sarah Fitzpatrick, MD-PhD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
Annika Belzer, BS, Yale School of Medicine
Olamide Olawoyin, Yale School of Medicine
Teimur Kayani, Yale School of Medicine
Alexandra Kimmel, MS4, Yale School of Medicine
Akhil Upneja, MD/MBA Student, Yale School of Medicine
Max Moss, MS1, Yale School of Medicine
Katherine Kennedy MD
Martha Kebeh, MS1, Yale School of Medicine
Benjamin Steren, Yale School of Medicine
Lauren Greenberg, RN, Yale School of Nursing
Madeline McNamara, M.D. Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
Fola Laditi, MD student, Yale School of Medicine
Carmen Pajarillo, MPH, MS4 at Yale School of Medicine
Sumaiya Sayeed, Yale School of Medicine
Valentyna Kostiuk, Yale School of Medicine
Julian Weiss, MS4, Yale School of Medicine
David Kirwin, Yale School of Medicine
Mariana Budge, MS4, Yale School of Medicine
Daniel Colón-Ríos, MD-PhD Student, Yale School of Medicine
Stephanie Tu, Yale School of Medicine
Shamik Bhat, MS1, Yale School of Medicine
Maxwell C Shaw-Jones, RN, APRN Student
Katherine Judge, APRN, DNP, Community Health Center Inc.
Diego Armengol, Yale School of Medicine
Tanner Bommersbach, MD MPH
Brianna Jackson MScN, RN, CPMHN(C)
Jessica P. Cerdeña, PhD, MD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
Caroline Helsen, MPH, Yale School of Public Health
Jemma Benson MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
Elizabeth Zhang, MSc, MD-PhD Student, Yale School of Medicine
Prerak, MD-MBA Student, Yale School of Medicine/Management
Rosa Gonzalez, MPH Candidate, Yale School of Public Health
Meredith Campbell, RN, MSN candidate, Yale School of Nursing
Daniel Jovin, MS1, Yale School of Medicine
Anastasia Eberhardt, RN, CCRN, Yale School of Nursing, Yale School of Public Health
Suzanne Lagarde MD
Jacqueline Ly, RN — Yale School of Nursing
Jan Arangan, MS3, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine
Audrey Hla, Frank H Netter MD School of Medicine
Sydney Miller, M2, Quinnipiac University School of Medicine
Jaye George, MS4, Quinnipiac University Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine
Megan Haugland, BS, MS3, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine
Amanda Liberman, MS3, Yale School of Medicine
Yelizaveta Tolstokoraya, RN
Emily Avery, MD student, Yale School of Medicine
Sally S Rosengren, MD
Casey, PCA, BS, Yale College
Nishita Pondugula, MS2, Yale School of Medicine
Warren Carter, MS1, Yale School of Medicine
Leon Chameides, MD
Benjamin Oldfield, MD MHS, Fair Haven Community Health Care
Seong Im Hong, M4, Yale School of Medicine
Joana Andoh, MS4 Yale School of Medicine
Amy B. Triche, DO
Paola Pérez, LMSW, Fair Haven Community Health Care
Victor Herson, Pediatrics/Neonatology @ CT Children’s
Christopher J Veale, MD, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
Hector Chaidez Ruacho, LMSW
Mercedes Forster, Medical Student, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine
Louisa Darko, M1, Frank H. Netter QU SOM
Ryland Mortlock, MD-PhD Student, Yale School of Medicine
Stephen Ghazikhanian, MD Student, Yale School of Medicine
Jamie Adametz, LMFT, Fair Haven Community Health Center
Sundes Kazmir, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Ashley Moreno, MD
Gaya Narendran, MD, Yale school of public health
Sahana Kribakaran, MD/PhD Candidate
Muzzammil Muhammad MS, 3rd Year Medical Student, Yale School of Medicine
Alan Lee, MS4, Yale School of Medicine
Miguel Algara, Yale School of Medicine, Class of 2022
Emily Christison-Lagay, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery (Pediatric), Yale School of Medicine
Magna Dias MD, Pediatrician Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital
Anna Poteraj, MS3, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine
Matthew Bizzarro, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Susanne Daly RN Yale New Haven Hospital
Allison Rodriguez, PA-S, Yale School of Medicine
Deepa R. Camenga, MD
Robert M. Rohrbaugh, MD
Erica Hwang, MS3, Yale School of Medicine
Emily Jetter, MS3, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine
Marci Panapada, APRN Fair Haven Community Health Center
Cherise A. Rowan, MD
Ericka Mercado, RN, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital
Sumitha Raman, MD
Tracy Rabin, MD, SM, Yale School of Medicine
Samuel Liburd Jr, MS3, MD/PhD, Yale School of Medicine
Federico Gomez Bernal, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Leah Schecter, MD, Internal Medicine resident at Yale
Katherine Leiby, MD/PhD candidate, Yale School of Medicine
Diana Poulsen, PA-C
Max Vieira, RN, Yale School of Nursing
Marina Gaeta Gazzola, MS4, Yale School of Medicine
Jaspreet Loyal, MD Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital
Ellen Wormser, MSN, CNM
Alissa S. Chen , MD MPH Yale School of Medicine
Alicia Conte, LMSW, Yale Child Study Center
Daniela Hoc
Aba Black, MD, MHS, Yale School of Medicine
Christie Musket, M.S., Yale School of Medicine
Emma Henderschedt, LMSW — Yale Intensive In-Home Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Services program
Corinne Grady, MS3, Frank H. Netter School of Medicine
Christopher McGirr, PMHNP-BC, Yale School of Medicine
Suman, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Michele Goyette-Ewing, PhD
Nicolas Luzino, DO, Yale Child Study Center
Etta Eckerstrom, RN, YSN Student
Delaney Rawson, MD, MPH
Colleen Traub, RN, Yale School of Nursing
Katherine Melton MA, RN, Yale School of Nursing
Barbara Trejo Ortega, MD
Eunice DeFilippo, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
Sheena Joychan, MD, Institute of Living/Hartford HealthCare
Anne Mentzinger, 1st year medical student, Yale School of Medicine
Rachel Johnson, MD, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital
Rosemarie Coratola, PsyD, LMFT, Institute of Living
Ainsley Backman, MD
Shannon O’Malley, MD
Steph Quainoo, MS3
Mariah Latzka, RN/MSN candidate, Yale School of Nursing
Ashleigh Backman, Esq.
Sadiq Naveed, MD
Inam Kureshi, MD
Amina Kureshi DO, Hartford Hospital
Andres Martin, MD, MPH
James Johnston, MS4, Yale School of Medicine
Whitney Nichols, MD Candidate, Frank H Netter MD School of Medicine
Jennifer Downs, MD
Gregory Germain, MD Associate Chief of Pediatrics, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital
Naomi Libby, MD , Clifford W. Beers Guidance Clinic and Yale School of Medicine
Kathleen Swec, MD, FAAP, Yale School of Medicine
Eunice Yuen MD PhD, Yale School of Medicine
Justin Halloran, MS4, Yale School of Medicine
Athena Jenkins, LCSW/RN
Rebecca McKeon, LCSW, CMHC
Yichu Xu, LMSW, Yale School of Medicine
Frances Javier, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Anisha Gill, MPH, RN- Yale School of Nursing student
Wanda D. Jofre, LCSW
Gordon Weiss MD, Yale Department of Psychiatry
Aisha Khan, MD
Hilary Klein, M.C.
Christina de Fontnouvelle, Yale School of Medicine Class of 2022
Jonathan F. Johnson, APRN, CSHHC and Yale School of Nursing
Andrea Asnes, MD, MSW
Elizabeth Dieckman, MD, Whitney Pediatics
Meredith Williams, MD
Clarice Begemann, APRN Fair Haven Community Health Care
Mark Rosenthal MD
Jennifer Henkind MD Stamford Pediatric Associates
Kalpana Reddy, MD. Middlesex Hospital
Garrett Garbo, MS3, Frank H Netter School of Medicine
Kirsten Bechtel MD, Yale School of Medicine
Prasanna Ananth, MD, MPH
Ian Ferguson, MD
Seth Woolf, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Allen Hsiao, MD, FAAP, FAMIA, Interim Chief, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine
Charles G. Hemenway,MD
Patricia Goncalves, RN, MSN, Yale Pediatrics
Michelle Van Name, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Carl Baum, MD
Miriam Cohen, MD
Desiree Campbell, MS1, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Kenneth R. Burke, MD
Patrick M Alvino, MD
Sherin Panacherry, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine
Hemali Shah, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Alicia Collen Zeidan, APRN
Elizabeth Perrone-Gray, APRN
Kathleen Felisca, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
Lamley Lawson, MD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
Kiara Barbieri, APRN, PNP — Cornell Scott Hill Health
Shreen Dubey, RN, Yale School of Nursing
Prakash Thomas, MD
Jessica Thompson, APRN, Fair Haven Community Health Care
Jungsoo Chang, MS4, Yale School of Medicine
Yeqi Chen, RN, Yale School of Nursing
Princesse Harmon, Undergraduate, University of Connecticut
Laurel B. Shader, MD
Jessica Malcolm, MD/MPH
Clement Hill, Yale University
Emily Sherry, RN Yale School of Nursing
Hada Fong-ha Ieong, PhD, Yale School of Medicine
Donna H. DiCello, Psy.D.
Kelly Werner, MD
Benjamin H Roberts
Katherine Mini, MD, Children’s Medical Group of Greenwich
Erin Alex, LCSW
Allyson Oshiro, MD
Jason Greenberg, MD, MHS, Yale School of Medicine
J. Daane Logsdon, DO
Mara De Maio, PhD
Nelis Bido-Jimenez, LCSW, Institute of Living, Hartford Healthcare
Angela Lemire, PA-S2, Yale School of Medicine
Cynthia Wilson, MD, President CT Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Luke Miller, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
David B. Frumberg, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Jennifer Huang, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
Lindsey Quinn APRN-DNP
Maxwell C Shaw-Jones, RN, Yale School of Nursing
Thomas Carpenter, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Lubna Pal, MBBS, FRCOG, MS
Ndidi Enwereji, MPH, The Frank H Netter SOM
Lovejit Kaur, MD
H. Shelby Rosario, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
Aisha Kitcher, MS3, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine
Jenna McDermit, YSN Student
Maggie Goodwin LCSW
Ruth Goldbaum APRN, MPH
Marlene Edelstein, APRN
Meghan McClain Garcia, FNP, APRN, MPH Community Health Center, Inc
Marilyn J Vache’ MD
L.C.S.W.
Rasha Alawieh, MD, Yale-Waterbury
Yao-Chieh Cheng, MD
Liza Goldman Huertas, MD IBCLC, Medicare for All CT and PNHP CT
Patricia Ryan-Krause APRN , Yale School of Nursing
Stephanie Marquez
Sandhira Wijayaratne, MD
Raphael Sherak, MD MPH, Yale Department of Emergency Medicine
Sarah Jefferson, MD, PhD
Reena Kapoor, MD
Jeanne Steiner, D.O., Yale School of Medicine
Margaret Chaplin, MD
Joan Narad MD
Cynthia Conrad, MD, PhD
Robert Sahl, MD
Howard Zonana MD
Paul Desan MD PhD
Michael A. Norko, MD, MAR, Yale School of Medicine
Velandy Manohar, MD
Nayla Hariz, MD
Christopher Hammel, MD, MPH
Tobias Wasser, MD, President Connecticut Psychiatric Society
Theodore Fishman, MD
Farah Tabaja, MD
Marina Rosengren, MD
Melissa Welby, MD
Fabiola Arbelo Cruz, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Ibrahim Orgun, Child Psychiatrist
Thomas Reinhardt MD
Robert A Grillo Jr MD. Navy medical readiness and training units
Muniza Majoka, MD. Yale School of Medicine
Nicole Baarck, MD, Institute of Living
Alan Siegal, MD
Ignatius Ang, DO
Devi Nampoothiri MD
Brenda Planck, MD
Sirikanya Sellers, MD
Anita Vasudevan, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Augie Lindmark, MD
Alex Fleming, MBBS
Ash Draper CNM, WHNP-BC, Midwife at Yale and Cornell Schott Hill Health
Sandeep Tiyyagura, MD
Andrew Lustbader, MD, FAAP, Associate Clinical Professor Yale Child Study Center
Abigail Carey, MD
Carolyn Chan, MD
Erin Davidowicz, MD, Yale University
Michael P. Goldman, MD, Yale School of Medicine
John Santopietro, MD, DFAPA
William Coe, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine
James Dodington, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Norin Ansari MD MPH, Oncology Fellow, Yale
Kristen Campbell, CPNP, Yale Pediatric Emergency Medicine