Health care providers: Expand HUSKY to undocumented immigrants

The letter below has been signed by over 300 health care providers in Connecticut who believe that eligibility for HUSKY, Connecticut’s Medicaid program, should be extended to undocumented members of our community. The CT legislature has raised Senate Bill 956 to address this issue, which successfully passed out of the Human Services Committee on April 1st, 2021. We encourage lawmakers to support its passage, with clear language to expand HUSKY eligibility to include all low-income CT residents, regardless of immigration status.

If you are a CT health care provider and would like to support this effort, you can sign the letter here or sign up to testify for the bill 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 being considered by the Human Services Committee that would expand HUSKY eligibility to all low-income CT residents, without regard to immigration status.

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 prohibited 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 was a wise decision, both to prevent illness and treat it early. It almost surely saved lives. But the wisdom of this decision is not restricted to COVID-19. Preventing disease and treating it early is the right approach to community health, from both a fiscal and moral perspective.

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 finally allow our most vulnerable community members to access quality medical care. We thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

Sincerely,

Organizations:
HUSKY For Immigrants Coalition
HAVEN Free Clinic
Doctors For America-CT
Students for a National Health Program, Yale School of Medicine

Individuals:
1. Matthew Meizlish, MD/PhD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
2. Jane E.M. Carter, PhD, Yale Health center
3. Eden Almasude, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale Mental Health & Counseling
4. Ola Elechi, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
5. Zachary Harvanek, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University
6. Amber Kelly, Associate Professor of Social Work, School of Health Sciences, Quinnipiac University
7. Katherine Kennedy, MD
8. Joseph Foran, MSN, staff RN at YNHH, Adjunct Nursing Faculty at SCSU
9. Tamanna Rahman, APRN
10. Kathleen Scheinberg, PMH-NP, Nourish Psychiatric and Wellness Services, LLC
11. Daedly Potusek, APRN — StayWell Health Center
12. Rebeca Vergara, HAVEN Free Clinic
13. Sherab Tsheringla, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
14. Mark D. Siegel, MD, Yale Medical School
15. Stephen R. Smith, M.D., M.P.H. Community Health Center of New London
16. John Moriarty, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
17. Katherine Penziner, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
18. Anita Vasudevan, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
19. Bryan Brown, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
20. Tracy Rabin, MD, SM, Yale University School of Medicine
21. Yao-Chieh Cheng, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
22. Alissa Chen MD, Yale — New Haven Hospital
23. William McDonald MD, Yale New Haven Health
24. William Coe, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine
25. Auguste H. Fortin VI, MD, MPH
26. Asadullah Awan, MD, Resident, Yale New Haven Hospital
27. Gilead Lancaster, MD Yale-New Haven Health at Bridgeport Hospital
28. Leah Schecter, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
29. Elizabeth Ferzacca, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
30. Vithya Thambiaiyah, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
31. Moritz, Ernest MD, Yale-New haven hospital
32. Henly Hewan MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
33. Carl Malm, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
34. Jocelyn Lillis, Medical Case Manager, Apex Community Care
35. Catherine A Hogan, LCSW Educational Consulting Services LLC
36. Pamela Mcguire
37. Karen Ablondi, LMSW, MPH, LADC, Yale University
38. Michael Marshall, LCSW Mia Vita Counseling
39. Antonia Cordero
40. Lorenzo Colon Munroe, LCSW-The Center for Wellbeing-Centro Bienestar, Inc.
41. Jo Nol Ph.D., MS, LCSW, Clinical Social Worker and Social Work educator
42. Jessica Malcom, MD/MPH, Yale New Haven Hospital
43. Julia Rosenberg MD MHS, New Haven CT Pediatrician
44. Camille Brown, MD- Yale-New Haven Hospital
45. Jon Koff, MD Yale University
46. Joshua Pulinat MD YNHH
47. Ralph Rosenberg MD
48. Kate Vivanco EdM, LCSW
49. Samuel Choi, MD
50. Magna Dias MD
51. Emily Friedman APRN
52. Jacob Rosenberg
53. Nichole Roxas, MD MPH, Yale Psychiatry
54. Jay Meizlish MD FACC FSCAI
55. Frances Cheng, MD PhD, Yale University School of Medicine
56. Ada Fenick, MD, Associate Professor, Pediatrics
57. Nirali Butala, MD
58. Naftali Kaminski MD
59. Kathleen Akgun, MD, MS; Yale school of medicine
60. Kristin Reese, MD
61. Claire Gibson, MD
62. Benjamin Yu, MD
63. Jessica Chaffkin, MD
64. Laura Hoyt, Yale MD/PhD Candidate 2026’
65. Adam Berkwitt, MD, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital
66. Katherine Nash, MD, Yale University School of Medicine
67. Meir Kryger MD FRCPC, Professor, Yale University
68. Hayley Israel, MD, Yale University
69. Eunice DeFilippo, MD, YNHH
70. Orlando González, Anthropology, University of Connecticut
71. Huanxing Sun, PhD, Yale University
72. Snigdha Jain, MD, Yale University
73. Louisa Holaday, MD
74. Destiny Tolliver, MD, Yale National Clinician Scholars Program, Fair Haven Community Health Care
75. Lynn Tanoue, MD
76. Keitra Thompson, DNP, APRN
77. Shannon O’Malley, MD
78. Queenie Abad, MD
79. Inginia Genao, MD, Yale University/Yale New Haven Hospital
80. Robin Whittemore
81. Pasha Davoudian, MD/PhD Student, Yale School of Medicine
82. Danielle Miyagishima, Yale MD-PhD Candidate
83. Sarah Fitzpatrick, MD-PhD Student, Yale School of Medicine
84. Nicholas Economos, MD/PhD, Yale University
85. Maya Deshmukh (MD/PhD candidate)
86. Sisi Zheng, YSM ‘26
87. Katharine Ellis, MD/PhD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
88. Jovan Lopez, B.S., Yale School of Medicine
89. Chelesa Fearce, MD/PhD Student, Yale School of Medicine
90. Avital Ludomirsky, MD, MPP, Yale School of Medicine, National Clinician Scholars Program
91. Sean Bickerton, PhD, Yale University
92. Casey Grun, MD/PhD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
93. Anchi Wu, BSE, Yale School of Medicine MD/PhD Program
94. Hannah Batchelor, Yale MD-PhD Student
95. Nashid Chaudhury, MD-PhD trainee, Yale School of Medicine
96. Calvin Fang, Yale MD/PhD Program
97. Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, MS, MD candidate, Yale School of Medicine
98. Nadine Padowicz
99. Richard A. Matthay, M.D. — Yale Medical School
100. Alex Fleming-Nouri, MBBS
101. Jeffrey Duncan-Lowey, Medical Student, Yale School of Medicine
102. Mona Sharifi, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine
103. Eric Geigle, M.D.
104. Ann Johnson, MD-PhD Student at Yale
105. Stacy Uchendu, Yale Medical School MD/PhD
106. Micha Sam Brickman Raredon, PhD
107. Lauren Ferrante, MD
108. Justin Charles, MD
109. Cindy Du, Yale Medical School, Medical Student
110. Nishita Pondugula, Yale School of Medicine 2024
111. Stefanie Rohde, MD Candidate (2021), Yale School of Medicine
112. Emma Lo, MD
113. Eli Neustadter, MD , MSc, Yale Department of Psychiatry
114. May Shum, MS3, Yale School of Medicine
115. Deborah Streahle, MA, History of Science and Medicine, Yale University
116. Naomi Rogers, Ph.D., Yale School of Medicine
117. Walker Keenan, MD, Psychiatry Resident Yale University
118. Harold Sanchez, MD, Yale School if Medicine
119. Jungsoo Chang, Medical Student at Yale School of Medicine
120. Nora O’Neill, MD Student, Yale School of Medicine
121. Margaret Pisani, MD, MPH
122. Sahana Kribakaran, MD/PhD Candidate, Yale University
123. Evelyn Cortes
124. Stephanie Mora Hernández, RN
125. Pavithra Vijayakumar, M4, YSM
126. Stephanie Larumbe Smith, RN, SNM, SWHNP
127. Ana Svibruck, RN
128. Ezra Lichtman, Medical Student, Yale School of Medicine 2021
129. Howard P. Forman MD, MBA Yale University
130. Sreeja Kodali, BS, Yale School of Medicine 2023
131. Anna Reisman, MD
132. Cary Gross, MD; Yale School of Medicine
133. Louise M. Tonning, MSSW, LCSW, RPT-S, ACSW
134. Abriana Tasillo, MD Student, Yale School of Medicine
135. Justin Halloran, Yale School of Medicine Class of 2022
136. Kiara Barbieri, MSN, PNP. Yale School of Nursing ‘20
137. Kelsey Rankin, Yale School of Medicine 2023
138. Marina Gaeta, Yale School of Medicine MD Class of 2022
139. Shashwat Kala, MD Student
140. Valentyna Kostiuk, Yale School of Medicine
141. Paulina Luna, MS, MD Candidate 2021, Yale School of Medicine
142. Kishan Patel, MD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
143. Samer Hassan, MD Student, Yale Class of 2022
144. Ellelan Degife, YSM Class of 2023
145. Aaron Long, MD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
146. Zeyu Tang, MS3, Yale University School of Medicine
147. Sarah Spaulding, MS1, Yale School of Medicine
148. Diana A Yanez, MD-PhD candidate, 2023
149. Kenneth Gunasekera, BS, Yale MD-PhD Program
150. John Andrews, Yale Medical Student
151. Darius Mostaghimi, MD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine 2024
152. Katherine Lepere, RN, Yale School of Nursing
153. Luis Gonzalez, B.S., Yale School of Medicine
154. Chloe Minervini, RN, YSN FNP candidate
155. Diane Somlo, Yale MD/MBA Candidate ‘21
156. Michael, BS, Yale Medical Student
157. Mary Elizabeth Guerra, BS, Yale School of Medicine
158. Divya Ramakrishnan, BS, Yale School of Medicine
159. Hieronimus Loho, MD student 2023, Yale School of Medicine
160. Victoria Bartlett, Yale School of Medicine
161. Olivia Herrington, Yale School of Medicine 2022
162. Hunter McCurdy, BS, Yale School of Medicine Class of 2023
163. Idil Yazgan, BS, MD candidate, Yale School of Medicine
164. Sydney Green, MD-PhD student, Yale School of Medicine
165. Mansen Yu, MD, Yale School of Medicine
166. Emily Avery, Yale School of Medicine MS2
167. Jessica Burris, MD, Yale University Department of Psychiatry
168. Charlotte Kim, MD Student, Yale School of Medicine
169. Shelley Geballe, JD, MPH, Yale School of Public Health
170. Justin Johnson, Medical student
171. Alexandra T Bourdillon BS, MD Candidate at Yale School of Medicine
172. Marissa Justen, MD candidate
173. Jessica Isom MD MPH
174. Julian Weiss, Yale School of Medicine, Class of 2022
175. August Oddleifson, BA, Yale School of Medicine
176. Kevin O. Juarez, MS4, Yale School of Medicine
177. James Nie, Yale Medical Student, Provider at CSHH
178. Nancy Stanwood, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine
179. Gloria Chen, Yale School of Medicine MD Candidate 2023
180. Maria Dalzell, PA-S2
181. Lubna Pal, MD; Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine
182. Sumaiya Sayeed, ScB, Yale School of Medicine
183. Shefali Pathy MD, MPH
184. MD, MPH
185. Nientara Anderson, MD, MHS, Yale Department of Psychiatry
186. Erica Hwang, MD Student, Yale School of Medicine
187. Sasha Susman, RN
188. Alan Lee, medical student at Yale School of Medicine
189. Angela Lee, PhD, MD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
190. Emma Wu Watkins, RN
191. Lucy Kohlenberg, Yale School of Medicine Student
192. Natalie Lomayesva, Yale School of Medicine
193. Hilda Slivka MD
194. Daisy Leon-Martinez, MD
195. Michael Toy
196. Lina Vadlamani, MD/MBA Student at Yale School of Medicine and Harvard Business School
197. Jordan Sloshower, MD, Yale University Department of Psychiatry
198. Sheela Shenoi MD MPH, Yale University
199. Sangini Sheth, MD, MPH, Yale School of Medicine
200. Xiomara Brioso Rubio, MD, Obstetrics and Gynecology
201. Ash Draper, MSN, CNM, APRN, Yale University School of Nursing
202. Rachel Schrier, MD, Chief Resident in Internal Medicine
203. Julia Cron, MD
204. Amy Thomas, YSM
205. Jessica Vandervoort
206. Christian M. Pettker, MD
207. Chaney Kalinich MPH, MD student — Yale School of Medicine
208. George Agyapong, MD, MS, Yale New Haven Hospital
209. Meghan A. Wilson, MD, MPH
210. Christina Johns, MD
211. Annika Belzer, YSM
212. Christopher Schenck, medical student, Yale School of Medicine
213. Halsey Niles, Yale School of Medicine, Class of 2021
214. Lorenzo Rakesh Sewanan, PhD, MD
215. Chinye Ijeli, M2, Yale School of Medicine
216. Amar Sheth, BS, Yale School of Medicine
217. Sumitha Raman, MD
218. Taiga Christie, MPH, EMT
219. Gabriela Aguilar, MD, MPH
220. Carmen Pajarillo, Yale School of Medicine
221. Sandhira Wijayaratne, MD, Yale Department of Psychiatry
222. Doreen M Picagli, MSN, APRN
223. Thomas L. Thomson, MSN, AGNP-C
224. Bradford Martins, MD, PhD, Yale Psychiatry Resident
225. Katelyn Richer, RN
226. Molly McShane, RN
227. Jessica Cerdeña, MPhil, MD/PhD Candidate, Yale University
228. James Baier, MD MPH, Yale University Department of Psychiatry
229. Joshua Onyango, MD
230. Kathy Doan, MPH, RN, Yale School of Nursing and Yale School of Public Health
231. Rohaum Hamidi, MD, Yale Pediatrics
232. Emma Taylor-Salmon, MD
233. Kathleen Felisca, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
234. Frances Javier, MD, Yale Psychiatry
235. Allison Ipsen, RN, Yale School of Nursing
236. Michael Cheng, RN, FNP Student, Yale School of Nursing
237. Jennifer Cate, MD
238. Alexandra Ulin, RN
239. Skylar VanSteemburg, RN, CNM/WHNP Student, Yale School of Nursing
240. Rachel White, MBBS, Yale University
241. Elizabeth Gromet MD, Yale Obstetrics & Gynecology
242. Tess Brickley RN, Yale School of Nursing
243. Anisha Gill, MPH, RN
244. Sean Patterson, MD, Yale Psychiatry
245. David L Brown, MD, FAAP, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
246. Mark A. Greenstein, MD, Professor Emeritus, UConn School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics (Genetics and Child Development)
247. Elizabeth Matlock, MD, Yale Department of Psychiatry
248. Darja Djordjevic, MD PhD, Yale Department of Psychiatry
249. Valerie Garcia, RN
250. Emily Webster, MD, Obstetrics and Gynecology
251. Kailey Carlson, Yale School of Medicine ‘24
252. Catherine C Wiley, MD, Pediatrician
253. Keri Wallace, MD, Attending Pediatrician
254. Stephanie Sudikoff, MD
255. Ilana Richman, MD MHS
256. Harry C. Weinerman, MD
257. Jennifer Haile, M.D.
258. Lauren Meiss, MD
259. Murad Khan, MD, Yale University
260. Aaron Zucker, MD
261. Donald W Hight MD
262. Viviann M Rubin, MD
263. Chitra Ramanan MD., DCH., FAAP
264. Susan K Ratzan MD, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
265. Sam Olyha, MD/PhD candidate, Yale School of Medicine
266. Elizabeth Roessler PA-C, Yale University, HAVEN Clinic
267. Meghan MCClain Garcia, MSN, MPH, FNP — The Community Health Center, Inc
268. Carol Leicher MD
269. Jehanzeb Kayani, MPH; MD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
270. Philip Costello ,APRN , clinical Director Greater New Haven healthcare for the homeless .r New Haven Health Care for the homeless
271. Lena Sweeney, MD, YNHH Ob/Gyn Resident
272. Leonard Banco, MD
273. Stephanie Halene, MD, Yale University School of Medicine
274. Angela Kang MD, MPH
275. Benjamin Gallagher, MD, Yale School of Medicine
276. Erin McMahon CNM, EdD
277. Gretchen Berland MD, Yale School of Medicine
278. Andrew Wormser, MD
279. Cynthia Frary McNamara MD, Clinical Assistantt Professor, Yale School of Medicine,
280. Rachel Nelson, MD
281. Ami Marshall EdD, MSN, APRN, ANP-C, Yale University School of Nursing
282. Frank J Bia MD MPH, Prof. Emeritus Internal Medicine, Yale University
283. Shannon McClure, MPH (pending), Clinical Program Coord.
284. Elana C. Cook, MD, MS
285. Oni Muhammad CNM
286. Priscilla Jencks, CNM, MPH, Fair Haven CHC
287. Miranda Rector, MPH Canidate, Yale School of Public Health
288. Karen Wang, MD MHS, Yale School of Medicine
289. Bertie Geng, MD, Resident at YNHH
290. Augie Lindmark, MD
291. Margaret Bia MD, Yale School of Medicine
292. Stephen Atlas MD Yale School of Medicine
293. Jaspreet Loyal
294. Leah Mawhinney, CNM, Fair Haven Midwifery
295. Dalia Peña-Solorzano, BSPH, RN
296. Chelsea Ohannessian, MSW Student, UConn
297. Melissa Markowitz, MD, Yale OB/GYN
298. Azim Munivar
299. Jacob Lister
300. Ecem Esencan, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
301. Marina Palma Lima, MD
302. Tamar Kaminski, MD Candidate, Yale School of Medicine
303. Justin Young, MD
304. Karla Boyd, MD, Yale-New Haven Hospital
305. Miranda Rector, MPH ’22, Yale School of Public Health
306. Reshma Ramachandran, MD, MPP — Yale National Clinician Scholars Program and Doctors for America-CT