Deb Polun, MA

Senior Director for Policy & Outreach

Update from the State Capitol: The Legislative Session started about six weeks ago and runs until June 5^th. Over the past month, individual legislators and legislative committees have proposed thousands of bills, and last Wednesday, Governor Lamont released his proposal for the next biennial budget.

CHCACT’s legislative priorities have been set by the Board, and include protecting HUSKY, providing payments for eConsults, protecting nonprofits from property taxes, and other initiatives. For the next several weeks, CHCACT will be testifying about these and other legislative and fiscal proposals, providing the perspective of health centers and their patients on important state issues. Testifying at a public hearing can be done in writing and/or in person; importantly, testifying is often just the beginning of the conversation around a policy proposal. Throughout the course of the session, people can write to their state legislators to provide input, helping to shape a bill before it gets voted on by the whole House and Senate (which usually does not happen for a few more months). You can read all of CHCACT’s testimony on the Advocacy page of our web site.

As for the budget proposal, CHCACT is pleased to see that Governor Lamont did not recommend any cuts to HUSKY eligibility or services. However, we are concerned about a recommended cut to funding for school-based health centers and about the proposal to implement an asset test for the Medicare Savings Program. We will be testifying on those issues in the coming weeks.

In addition to testifying at public hearings, CHCACT also meets individually with legislators, to share information about health centers and the CHCACT priorities. We also have a display in the concourse that runs between the State Capitol and the Legislative Office Building.

Finally, you are all invited to join us for CHCACT’s annual Legislative Reception, this coming Wednesday, February 27^th at 4:30 pm at the Legislative Office Building. The reception provides great opportunities to share the good work of health centers with policymakers and staff. Come, and bring a friend or colleague!