Connecticut Faces Lawsuit Over Medicaid Discrimination Against Disabled Residents

In a notable development impacting the healthcare access landscape in Connecticut, a lawsuit has been filed by Disability Rights Connecticut and the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic against the state Department of Social Services. This legal action, stemming from alleged discrimination against disabled residents under Connecticut’s Medicaid program, HUSKY, highlights critical eligibility issues. The suit claims that the state’s structuring of Medicaid discriminates against disabled individuals by restricting them to the HUSKY C plan, which has stringent income and asset limits. Consequently, individuals like the plaintiffs, who exceed these financial thresholds due to Social Security Disability Insurance payments, find themselves ineligible without alternatives within the state’s Medicaid framework. This has sparked a call for a declaratory judgment to rectify what is claimed to be a violation of the equal protection clause of the state Constitution. The lawsuit specifically demands that the income limit for HUSKY C align with that of HUSKY D, which has no asset limits and covers broader population segments.