Over 100K CT residents could lose Medicaid coverage. What towns may be hit hardest?

[Excerpt from news article by Sasha Allen, 9/5/2025]

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act could cause millions of people to lose Medicaid coverage over the coming years — with estimates of between 100,000 and 170,000 people potentially impacted in Connecticut.

The law, passed on July 4, makes several changes to Medicaid and imposes limits on the amount of funding states can collect from the federal government for the program. However, this change would hit low-income areas the hardest.

Hartford is projected to undergo the biggest loss according to data from DataHaven, with 10.6% of the town’s total population projected to lose Medicaid coverage. That means that of the nearly 120,000 Hartford residents, nearly 13,000 stand to lose their coverage in the next decade. More than 90,000 people in Hartford receive health care under Medicaid. 

Waterbury and New Britain residents are also projected to have high levels of health care coverage loss. DataHaven found that 102,000 Connecticut residents who live below 200% of the federal poverty line are projected to lose Medicaid coverage. 

While the majority of those that may be impacted are white, a disproportionate percentage of minority communities — 9% of the Latino population and 8% of the Black population — are projected to lose coverage, according to DataHaven.

However, Medicaid isn’t the only health care coverage affected. Residents insured under Access Health CT, Connecticut’s official health insurance exchange, may also be impacted. A July press release from the organization stated that between 30% and 35% of its over 150,000 customers could lose coverage in the next decade.

“These changes can be expected to increase costs for customers here in Connecticut, and nationwide, and create barriers to financial help,” James Michel, the chief executive officer of Access Health CT, said in the press release regarding federal policy changes.

Nationwide, Medicaid enrollment is projected to drop according to analysis done by the KFF Health News, a nonprofit U.S. health policy organization. [....]