Dear, Friend,

In preparing for the 2022 legislative session, we had a clear objective – to advance health equity.

AND WE DID! Together we pushed through and maximized opportunities to advance health equity in our state. HES testified on 19 bills and relaunched a framework for policy change, Connecticut's Path to Equity

Your advocacy was essential, and today we celebrate YOU. 

Thank you for making an impact! We’re excited to share this summary of the session’s good news for health equity in CT!

Health Equity Solutions Session Highlights:

✔️ Community Benefit Reporting

Hospitals must now report to the Office of Health Strategy (OHS) in more detail about how community benefit spending addresses health disparities and meets needs identified by their communities, as well as how they engaged their communities. OHS will publish a summary report with a public comment period annually. See section 50 of H.B. 5500 for details and our fact sheet on how community benefit laws advance health equity. 

✔️ Certification for doulas is coming to CT!

H.B. 5500 (section 40) also requires the Department of Public Health to establish a Doula Advisory Committee aligned with recommendations from Doulas 4 CT and others. This committee will set standards for certification and training curricula, bringing doulas a step closer to sustainable reimbursement and CT a step closer to birth equity!

✔️  Health Equity Week

The first full week of April will now be recognized in statute as Health Equity Week to annually reaffirm Connecticut’s commitment to eliminating inequities in health. Click the image to learn more about Health Equity Week 2022.

 
 

Budget Highlights:  

🎉 HUSKY for children: Increases to 12 (from 8) the age at which immigrant children who are income-eligible will have access to HUSKY programs and enables children to stay enrolled until they turn 19

🎉 Community health workers: Increases funding for community health workers hired by community action agencies and funds the Community Health Workers Association of Connecticut

🎉 Lead poisoning: Reduces the threshold for reporting lead poisoning and inspecting homes, and adds funding to support interventions

🎉 Access to oral health care: Increases provider rates for HUSKY dental providers to improve access to dental care

🎉 Equity in the state budget: Requires the Governor to explain how the proposed state budget addresses equity

🎉 HUSKY C eligibility: Simplifies eligibility calculations for HUSKY C and TFA (Medicaid for older adults and people with disabilities and cash assistance) based on the annually adjusted federal poverty level and increases the asset limit for some families

🎉 Funding for equity-focused organizations: Federal funding was allocated to organizations including Health Equity Solutions, the Connecticut Oral Health Initiative, and the Connecticut Health Foundation as well as to school-based health centers, community health providers, and broadband infrastructure in underserved areas

Congratulations, to our partners who worked to advance reproductive health, environmental justice, and behavioral health workforce diversity, and who have many other successes to report! 

THANK YOU!

Friend, Thank you for supporting Health Equity Solutions and our partners as we build a more equitable future for Connecticut.  Your calls, emails, actions, insights, and showing up are what make policy change happen. Please join us in celebrating this progress and looking ahead to more in 2023!

Here are some ways you can stay engaged: 

➡️ Join the Conversation! Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and on Instagram

➡️ Contribute to Connecticut’s Path to Equity. Connecticut’s Path to Equity is a menu of state-level policy changes to promote health equity in Connecticut. Your feedback will be used in creating the next iteration!

➡️ See what we are up to! Sign up to receive our action alerts & our newsletter 

➡️ Follow our blog page, and keep an out eye for engagement activities during the summer! More information to come. 

Kind regards,

Karen Siegel, MPH
Director of Policy
Ksiegel@hesct.org
Direct Line: 860.937.6437

Health Equity Solutions
53 Oak Street  | Hartford, Connecticut 06106
860.461.7637 | info@hesct.org

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