Dear reader, Did you miss us? We missed you! We took a short break from our monthly newsletter, but now we're back and better than ever! Get ready for exciting updates, fresh content, and all the health equity news you love. We've got a lot in store, so stay tuned and check your inbox regularly. Thank you for your continued support—we're thrilled to reconnect with you! ❤️ ICYMI here's what we were up to in March and April! Now back to regularly scheduled updates. Scroll for May news. Best, HES Team | | | |  | | | | | | | Welcome to Health Equity Solutions' monthly newsletter! Have content to contribute? Fill out this form.
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Know someone else who might be interested in receiving our newsletter? Share this subscription link! | | | | | | "Colonization & Decolonization" | | | | | | | | | | | | 2024 Legislative Session Summary: Bills HES Testified On The 2024 legislative session ended on May 8th. Thank you so much for your engagement and support! Your participation and feedback are invaluable in shaping the decisions and policies that impact our community. We look forward to continuing our work together to address the health equity challenges and opportunities ahead. Below is a summary of this year's legislative session. A full wrap-up will be published on our website in June. Stay tuned. -
H.B. 5320: An Act Concerning Hospital Financial Assistance: Improving hospital financial assistance was HES’ legislative lead for 2024. The bill passed out of the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support. However, it was not called in the Senate. Thank you all for your support and advocacy, your hard work does not go unnoticed. HES will continue to work with partners to push for the elimination of medical debt and support the implementation of a statewide hospital financial assistance portal. -
S.B. 395: An Act Concerning Medicaid Budgeting Methods and the Reporting of Medical Debt: Passed out of the Senate and the House and has since been signed into law by the Governor. It is now P.A: 24-6 -
HB 5005: An Act Expanding Paid Sick Days In The State: Passed out of the House and the Senate chambers and was signed by the Governor. It is now Public Act No. 24-8. Congratulations to the Paid Sick Days Coalition for this victorious win! -
S.B 36: An Act Establishing a Refundable Child Tax Credit: Had a public hearing but was not voted on by the Finance Committee and did not pass. -
H.B. 5048: An Act Adjusting the State Budget for the Biennium Ending June 30, 2025: HES submitted testimony and advocated in opposition to the reductions to HUSKY A and HUSKY C eligibility. Unfortunately, HUSKY reductions were passed in H.B 5523, now Public Act 24 -81, which reduced HUSKY A’s income eligibility to 138% of FPL (reduced from 160%). HES also testified in favor of increasing the age limit from 15 to 18 years old for income-eligible children regardless of immigration status. Unfortunately, there was no age increase this year. | | | | | | HES 2024 Community Conversations! Community involvement is essential to effective policymaking. Every year, Health Equity Solutions organizes Community Conversations to understand the health equity issues that matter most to Connecticut residents. During these discussions, participants share their perspectives on health equity and healthcare and express their interest in contributing to this work. The insights gathered from these sessions inform our annual policy agenda. Want to get involved? Stay tuned for updates on our 2024 Community Conversations. Read our previous Community Conversations Reports here. | |  | | | | | | | Last week, the Office of Health Strategy (OHS) and several of Connecticut’s state agencies hosted the first-ever statewide Summit on the Social Determinants of Health at the Chrysalis Center in Hartford, CT. HES is so grateful to be a part of these conversations. Watch the full summit here. | |  | | The HES Advantage is an extension of Health Equity Solutions that offers customizable, equitable consulting, facilitation, and training services to agencies, healthcare systems, and communities with a race-forward approach. | | | | | | | | | | Upcoming Events: The Connecticut Health Foundation turns 25 this year. Join them to hear from Connecticut and national leaders as we celebrate and look ahead! Keynote Speaker: Linda Villarosa, journalist and author of Under The Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on Health in America. Register here. | | | |  | Annual Waterbury HIV/AIDS Walk Join the Waterbury Health Department for their Annual Waterbury HIV/AIDS Walk on Saturday, June 15, 2024, at 9:00 AM! More information is on the flyer below. 🚶♀️ | |  | | | | | | | Stay informed about the latest developments in health equity, social determinants of health, racial justice, and more! Every week, we feature relevant news articles and reports on our social media. Check out a few highlights below: - KFF’s Health Policy 101: “A new KFF resource—Health Policy 101—explains the basics on a wide range of topics about health programs and policy in the United States, such as Medicare and Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, health care costs and affordability, women’s health issues, and the politics of health care.” https://www.kff.org/health-policy-101/?utm_campaign=KFF-Health-Policy 101&utm_source=general%20email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=landing_page
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Four years later, has the racial-justice movement lost the fight?: “Four years after George Floyd’s murder, two Washington Post reporters reflect on the retrenchment of the racial-justice movement sparked by his death.” https://img.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/05/25/george-floyd-anniversary-retrenchment/ -
The US faces a deadly maternal mental health crisis — and it may be getting worse: "Mental health conditions, the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the country, are driving an alarming rise in maternal mortality rates, which climbed roughly 60 percent between 2019 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4616348-maternal-mental-health-crisis-pregnant-wom/mlite/ | | | | Made it this far? Thank you so much for reading our updates! We appreciate your support. If you have any questions, please email info@hesct.org. Best, HES Team | | | | | | Health Equity Solutions
53 Oak Street | Hartford, Connecticut 06106
860.461.7637 | info@hesct.org | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
