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Learn about potential changes to DSS benefits due to the federal budget reconciliation bill (H.R.1) in our article, What will change with DSS benefits following the passing of federal H.R.1?

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What will change with DSS benefits following the passing of federal H.R.1?

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Changes to DSS benefits with the passing of federal H.R.1

As of July 3, 2025, at 3:30 p.m. the below information reflects the changes CT residents will see with the passing of the bill by Congress, which the President signed into federal law on July 4, 2025. DSS is analyzing the impacts very closely and will continue to communicate with CT residents about changes to DSS benefits. 

 

SNAP

Work Requirement Changes 

  • No enactment date specified, awaiting federal guidance
  • Increases the age limit of Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) subject to work requirements from 54 to 64
  • Changes the exemption for adults with children under the age of 18 to adults with children under the age of 14
  • Removes exemptions for veterans, those experiencing homelessness, young adults under the age of 24 and those who have aged out of foster care. Limits waivers to towns/areas that have an unemployment rate greater than 10% 

Non-citizen Eligibility 

  • No enactment date specified, awaiting federal guidance
  • Restricts non-citizen eligibility to legal permanent residents, Cuban/Haitian entrants, and Compacts of Free Association (COFA) citizens
  • Individuals such as refugees, asylees, trafficking victims, humanitarian parolees and more who currently qualify for SNAP will no longer be eligible due to their immigration status

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) 

  • No enactment date specified, awaiting federal guidance
  • Limits the SNAP-LIHEAP (Heat & Eat) connection to only apply to households with an older adult or disabled member 

Medicaid (HUSKY Health) 

Work Requirements 

  • Effective December 31, 2026, states may request an extension of up to 2 years to implement requirements to December 31, 2028
  • Adults 19-64 will be required to engage in at least 80 hours per month of work or community engagement to remain eligible for Medicaid 
  • Acceptable activities to meet the requirement: 
    • Monthly income that is at least 80 times the federal hourly minimum wage (currently $7.25), or any of the following: 
      • At least 80 hours per month of work, or
      • At least 80 hours per month of community service, or 
      • At least 80 hours per month of qualified work or training program participation, or 
      • Enrolled at least half-time in an education program, or
      • Any combination of the above totaling at least 80 hours per month
  • Provides exemptions from the work requirement for: 
    • Pregnant and postpartum individuals 
    • Foster and former foster youth 
    • Indians/Urban Indians 
    • Veterans with rated disabilities
    • Medically frail individuals (e.g. blind, disabled, children with serious emotional disturbances, adults with serious mental illness, chronic substance use disorders, serious and complex medical conditions) 
    • Individuals with alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder 
    • Individuals already meeting work requirements for SNAP and/or TANF 
    • Parents and caregivers of a dependent child aged 13 and under or an individual with a disability 
    • Individuals recently released from incarceration for 90 days post release
    • Individuals with a short-term hardship waiver 

Non-citizen eligibility 

  • Effective October 1, 2026
  • Restricts non-citizen eligibility to legal permanent residents, Cuban/Haitian entrants, and Compacts of Free Association (COFA) citizens
  • Individuals such as refugees, asylees, trafficking victims, humanitarian parolees and more who currently qualify for HUSKY Health will no longer be eligible due to their immigration status

Retroactive Medicaid/CHIP Coverage 

  • Effective for applications on or after January 1, 2027
  • Limits retroactive coverage for adults with Medicaid to 1 month instead of 3 months 
  • Limits retroactive coverage for other Medicaid recipients to 2 months instead of 3 months 
  • Provides 2 months of retroactive coverage for CHIP programs.  

Renewal Frequency 

  • Effective December 31, 2026
  • HUSKY D recipients will need to complete a renewal every 6 months instead of every 12 months 

Cost-sharing Requirement 

  • Effective October 1, 2028
  • Requires states to impose cost-sharing on HUSKY D adults with incomes over 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL)
  • Amount of cost sharing can be decided by the state but must be more than $0 and cannot exceed $35 per item or service 
  • Total cost-sharing cannot exceed 5% of the individual’s or family’s income 
  • Certain services are excluded from cost-sharing:
    • Primary care 
    • Prenatal care 
    • Pediatric care
    • Emergency room care (except for non-emergency care provided in emergency rooms) 
    • Services provided by a Federally Qualified Health Center 

Maximum home equity limit 

  • Effective October 1, 2028
  • Sets a maximum home equity limit of $1 million for the purposed of determining eligibility for long-term services and supports 

Covered CT
  • No extension of Enhanced Premium Tax Credits
  • The enhanced credits are still scheduled to revert to prior levels on December 31, 2025, after which the state will incur increased costs to maintain Covered CT as a no-cost program for members 

Provider Tax Changes
  • No enactment date specified, awaiting federal guidance
  • Generally keeps provider taxes at current percent in state law after the federal legislation is enacted 
  • Phases down the “safe harbor” (typically maximum) level for taxes for most provider types for states that expanded Medicaid (including CT) from current 6% to 3.5% over five federal fiscal years (5.5 for FY 2028, 5% for FY 2029, 4.5% for FY 2030, 4% for FY 2031, 3.5% for FY 2032) 
  • To the extent that these federal law changes may result in lower overall provider taxes collected in the future, that will mean:
    • Reduction in taxes that the state can collect in the future from certain provider categories
    • Less funding for certain healthcare providers that accept Medicaid since the state uses these taxes to make higher Medicaid payments that receive federal matching funds

Estimated State Budget Impacts (under review and subject to change) 

SNAP 

  • Administrative cost increase due to shift of cost from federal to state: $40 million annually
  • Benefit cost sharing based on payment rate error: estimated range of $44 to $133 million annually 

Medicaid 

  • Estimated $50 to $100 million in state share cost reductions due to 100-200k reduction in enrollment 
  • Estimated $20 to $50 million state share administration costs for new systems and operational work 
  • Risk of potential future increased state costs due to shifts in enrollment, changes in federal payment error rate measurement (PERM) rules, and other changes

Provider Tax 

  • Potential loss of future federal Medicaid revenue from provider tax changes is still being analyzed 

Key Proposals removed from the bill by the Senate (not included in the enacted federal law)
  • Financial penalty for states that use state funds to pay for healthcare services for non-citizens 
  • Prohibition against paying for gender affirming care

General Information Food Assistance Healthcare Coverage
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