Insurance and Real Estate Committee
HOUSE FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: HB-5251
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY HEALTH INSURANCE
Title: COVERAGE FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN THIS STATE.
Vote Date: 3/10/2020
Vote Action: Joint Favorable
PH Date: 2/25/2020
File No.:
Disclaimer: The following HOUSE FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
Insurance and Real Estate Committee
REASONS FOR BILL:
To establish a task force to study health insurance coverage for undocumented immigrants in
this state. This bill is needed because there are many undocumented immigrants in
Connecticut who are without healthcare insurance.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
None Expressed
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Representative Susan Johnson 49th District supports this bill because she believes
accessible medical care reduces public health risks for a healthier society. She makes the
point that most undocumented immigrants in this state do not receive health treatment until
their medical condition has advanced due to lack of coverage. Their lack of coverage means
they dont receive preventative care which then results in the progression of an otherwise
simple medical issue. Their medical issue then is taken care of if only they go to an
emergency room which may cost hundreds of dollars. If they cannot afford their emergency
room visit then that cost is passed onto others. She feels that health insurance May protect
individuals from expensive medical costs and provide preventative care.
Mackenzie Baysinger supports this bill because she believes this study will give proof that
healthcare for people who are undocumented is morally as well as fiscally the right thing to
do. She cited a study by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force that identifies cost saving
measures such as counseling adults to quit smoking, screening for cancer, and providing
influenza vaccination. These measures reduce mortality either at low cost or at a cost savings
level.
Wildaliz Bermdez supports this bill because she believes healthcare should be accessible
to all, and it does not make sense for us to treat something as indispensable as medicine and
medical treatment as a tool for profit rather than for care. She believes this bill will be a step
in the right direction towards a more equitable and healthy state.
Michael Blicher supports this bill because he believes healthcare is a fundamental human
right that should not be denied to anybody on the basis of their background. He feels that
citizenship status should not be a determinant of health and wellness - but by limiting
undocumented individuals access to healthcare, the state of Connecticut is perpetuating
health disparities and systemic inequities within communities of color.
Camila Bortolleto supports this bill because she is an undocumented immigrant herself who
is now protected under DACA, and she knows that the healthcare options for undocumented
families are severely limited and they cannot seek the proper health care they need due to
the combined factors of their status and inability to pay.
Lydia Broderick supports this bill because she believes expanding HUSKY coverage to
undocumented immigrants is necessary but this expansion must be done thoughtfully and
with immigrants lived experiences in mind. She suggests the task force also include
representation from advocacy groups such as Connecticut Immigrants Rights Alliance,
Connecticut Students for a Dream, the Universal Health Care Foundation, and Healthy Equity
Solutions.
Chelsea Connery supports this bill because the lack of health care her boyfriend (now
husband) had delayed their decision to get married. She also supports this bill because as an
educator in a district with a large immigrant population she had students whose meaningful
learning was hindered by their inability to access care and/or insurance. She feels it is
imperative that this task force include representatives from an immigrant rights advocacy
organization as well as a health care advocacy organization.
Yenimar Cortes supports this bill as an undocumented immigrant herself who has been
directly affected by the lack of preventative health care. She states she has been without
healthcare her whole life. Her lack of healthcare has resulted in her diagnosis of chronic
gastritis, which could have been prevented had she went to the doctor regularly. She raises
the point that undocumented people pay 145 million dollars into state and local taxes every
year but are barred from accessing health care.
Amelia D.; Alana E.; David Foster; Abigail Leighton; Mark Matera; Vanessa N.; BriAnna
Nixie; Evan Roberts; Rosie Rothschild; Laura Rosa; Emmett Shell; Kenneth Speyer;
and Emma Walker all support this bill for similar reasons. They support this bill because they
believe healthcare is a human right, providing healthcare for Connecticuts undocumented
immigrant population is the morally right thing to do, and access to healthcare should not only
be for the wealthy and privileged. They feel access to healthcare should not be based on
citizenship status, access to healthcare improves the states public and economic health, and
the creation of this task force is a critical step in the direction of saving lives. It is also
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important to note that many in this group feel the task force should include representation of
the affected population such as individuals from immigrant rights advocacy groups as well as
healthcare advocacy groups.
Diego Haro supports this bill as the son of a mother who just recently gained her citizenship.
He also supports this bill to ensure that families like his are supported on their path to
citizenship and people are given the healthcare they deserve upon entering this country.
Steve Eppler-Epstein supports this bill as he has met and talked to many immigrants over
the course of his career at Connecticut Legal Services and know that many of them have fled
terrible situations in their country of origin and are hard-working family-focused people. He
states they are the kind of people who have always built the American economy and our
multicultural communities. But under current policies, many of them cannot access health
care. He also states there is a toll on our economy, because people who want to work cannot
do so when they are sick and cannot get treatment.
Molly Falleck supports this bill as a student athlete who suffered an injury that wouldve
jeopardized her athletic scholarship if she didnt have access to insurance to cover her
surgery and rehab. She states that healthcare and insurance are pivotal to basic living
standards. She also feels that Healthcare is a human right.
Rosana Ferraro and the Universal Healthcare Foundation support this bill because they
believe healthcare is a human right and that health insurance coverage is crucial for our
immigrant communities to be healthy. They cite statistics from the Migration Policy Institute
such as 30.1% of foreign-born non-citizens are uninsured and 52% are uninsured in
undocumented communities. They feel that though Connecticut has a relatively low
uninsured rate at 5.3% we will never truly achieve 100% universal cover state in this state
without addressing the needs of our immigrant communities. They provided three
recommendations for the task force this bill would create in addressing issues immigrants
face in receiving health insurance. The first recommendation is to expand the scope of the
task forces study to include all immigrants who are ineligible for health insurance due to their
immigration status. The second recommendation is to broaden the scope of the task force to
include exploring options and creative solutions for covering undocumented immigrants and
other immigrants currently ineligible for private and public programs in this state, both through
private and public insurance programs, such as HUSKY A, B, C, and D. Their last
recommendation is that those most impacted by this issue - the undocumented and other
immigrant communities - should be at the table during this process and included in the
composition of the task force. They recommend a representative form an immigrant rights
advocacy organization sit as well as a representative from a health care advocacy
organization sit on the task force.
Kathy Flaherty supports this bill because she believes access to healthcare should be
considered a human right and should not be dependent on ones immigration status. She
states it is concerning that the starting proposal is establishment of a task force rather than a
proposal to expand HUSKY to offer some level of coverage to undocumented immigrants.
She feels that the task force should include representatives from immigrants rights advocacy
groups as well as healthcare advocacy organizations with established ties to the immigrant
community.
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Jonathan Gonzalez-Cruz and Connecticut Students for a Dream support this this bill
because they believe that living I afraid means our immigrant communities have access to
safe, accessible, and affordable healthcare, health insurance, and health coverage, that does
not discriminate on the basis of status. They cite the Migrant Policy Institute which gives an
estimated 52% uninsured rate in the undocumented community, resulting in approximately
53,000 uninsured individuals in Connecticut. They recommend the task force take a two-fold
approach and study ways to expand coverage within Connecticuts HUSKY insurance
program and the private insurance market. They again cite MPI on how approximately 46,000
undocumented immigrants in Connecticut earn less than 200% below the poverty level and in
turn should qualify for HUSKY. Due to the status of these undocumented immigrants being
non-qualifying immigrants they continue to be barred from enrolling in coverage. They also
reckoned the task force find ways to increase access to private health care coverage for
immigrants. Finally, they recommend those most affected should be leading the fight and
represented on the task force and they give many examples of organizations they deem fit to
be included on this task force.
Pareesa Goodwin and the Connecticut Oral Health Initiative supports this bill because
their mission is to increase access to quality affordable oral health services for all Connecticut
residents. They state how black and Latino children have higher rates of cavities and are
more likely to need urgent dental treatment, compared to white classmates. They also
mention that among older adults in Connecticut, a disproportionate number of adults of color
ages 55 and older, compared to white adults of the same age, have no natural teeth. COHI
values equity and believes an equity lens is essential to improving oral health outcomes for
all Connecticut residents. They request oral health be included in the established task force
study of coverage and care inequities specifically because dental coverage is distinct from
health coverage in our system. They include suggested language in their testimony.
Madeline Granato and The Connecticut Womens Education and Legal Fund supports
this bill because they believe access to affordable health care is a critical component to
advance the economic security of women in our state. They state that 44% of undocumented
immigrants in Connecticut are women and that women-led households with access to
affordable health care are less likely to forego or delay much needed medical treatment and
preventative care for themselves and their families. They also state that undocumented
immigrants pay $145 million into state and local taxes annually and that these undocumented
immigrants are unable to access the healthcare programs that their taxes fund due to their
immigration status. CWEALF believes that undocumented immigrants, as taxpayers in
Connecticut deserve an equal and fair opportunity to access the healthcare programs.
Nick Jacobson supports this bill as he gives his own story of how he required daily
medication for the first 15 years of his life due to a genetic mutation. He was fortunate to have
been on his mothers insurance. He believes no one should have to worry about how to pay
medical bills and that health care is a human right.
Camille Kritzman supports this bill as she is a case manager for the IRS and has many
clients who are uninsured. She shares three stories which can be found in her testimony of
her clients who have been found uninsured in unfortunate situations pertaining to their health.
Joanne Lewis and Connecticut Legal Services support this bill they believe access to
healthcare is a necessary foundation of healthy development for children, and of productivity
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of adults. She says how many of her clients work and contribute to the state and federal tax
coffers, yet are unable to qualify for state and federal medical programs or health care
insurance subsidies. She feels this is unfair to the affected individuals, and also poses
broader public health concerns. She commends Connecticut on being a leader in fights for
fair treatment to immigrants. She mentions how we have expanded medical coverage to help
ensure the productivity of our residents and how she believes it is important to extend that
coverage to all of the states residents.
Kelly McConney Moore and the ACLU CT support this bill because they believe the
creation of a task force to study the health insurance needs and barriers to insurance access
for undocumented people in Connecticut is wise. They state that non-citizens are significantly
more likely to be uninsured than citizens, with an estimated 45 percent of undocumented
immigrants uninsured. They raise the point that Children with at least one citizen parent are
almost twice as likely to be uninsured as children with two citizen parents. This could be a
contributing factor to the low rate of healthcare utilization by undocumented people - who
account for just 1.4 percent of the total medical expenditures in the U.S., even though they
make up approximately 5 percent of the population.
Carlos Moreno and the Connecticut Working Families Organization supports this bill
because they believe expanding coverage and making it equitable for undocumented
immigrants makes financial sense for CT. They state that undocumented immigrants pay into
our healthcare system, but cannot access services when needed. In Connecticut, they pay
roughly 145 million dollars into state and local taxes every year, funding state healthcare
programs, such as Medicaid, but due to their status are unable to access any of these health
programs.
Jane Nadel and Connecticut Shoreline Indivisible support this bill because they believe
one of the most fundamental human rights is the right to healthcare. They believe it is unfair
that a community that contributes approximately 145 million dollars in state and local taxes
each year does not have the same rights as other taxpayers. They feel that people who
contribute so much to our state welfare should not be discriminated against solely because of
their immigration status. They also make the point that making health insurance accessible to
undocumented immigrants, or other immigrants currently barred from coverage, benefits
everyone in the state by protecting our public health as well as by lowering uncompensated
care costs that otherwise would be assumed by both private and public sectors.
Brigith Rivera supports this bill as an immigrant from Peru whose familys access to
healthcare and insurance is extremely limited. She mentions that not a single member of her
family has healthcare insurance. Her father has hip pain that doesnt allow him to work. As a
result, her mother works three jobs as she is the sole provider of income. She believes that
having access to healthcare would help her family tremendously as she would be able to
finish school without having to drop out and start working to help take care of her family
should her mom get injured. Also, she believes that access to healthcare would cure her
fathers illness.
Constanza Segovia supports this bill as an immigrant from Argentina who is now a U.S.
citizen along with his family who has never had easy access to health insurance. He gives
the story of how his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and how his family knew if she
had not received her green card right before this diagnosis happened, the situation wouldve
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been much worse. It wouldve placed his family in crippling debt. The treatment his mother
received saved her life, and he believes access should not be determined by her immigration
status.
Kathleen Silard and Stamford Health support this bill because they believe that
Connecticut would stand to benefit from an expansion of coverage to the undocumented.
They feel access to health insurance promotes the regular use of primary care including
preventative care, which increases early diagnosis of conditions and diseases when
treatment is less invasive, less expensive and has the greatest chance of success. They
encouraged the state to consider how it might ensure access to insurance for the
undocumented to ensure their well-being.
Mary Smith and Make the Road CT support this bill because it would provide necessary
information as to how health insurance coverage could be increased to include
undocumented individuals in our state. Their organization is made up of undocumented,
documented, and mixed status families across the state. They include in their testimony
some of the stories members of their organizations have in their struggles with their health
and access to quality healthcare. They believe providing a humane healthcare system for all
is long overdue.
Tom Swan and the Connecticut Citizens Action Group support this bill because they feel
that ensuring everyone has access to coverage is not only the morally correct thing to do, it is
the smart thing to do. They state that the current chaos surrounding a possible world
pandemic around th