Asher Joseph photo
Celebrating the expansion of CT's Medicaid.
At 9 a.m. Monday, Estefania Guanoluisa Valdez became the first undocumented teenager in Connecticut to newly enroll for health insurance with HUSKY, the state’s Medicaid program — thanks to a new state law that expands such coverage to children up to the age of 15, regardless of their immigration status.
Freshly 13 years old, Valdez would not have been eligible to sign up for the state’s Medicaid program last month, under the previous cap limiting new enrollment to kids 12 and under.
The new law that took effect statewide on Monday — and for which Valdez was the first to sign up — means that she can now enroll. The law also allows kids who sign up for Medicaid when they are 15 or younger to re-enroll through the age of 19.
Valdez attended a press conference Monday at Fair Haven Community Health Care at 374 Grand Ave. to celebrate the new law, which already supported 12,000 undocumented children prior to its expansion.
Fair Haven Community Health Care CEO Suzanne Lagarde opened the press conference in the center’s parking lot, adjacent to the site of its new building. She provided an update on the program’s impact to date, citing the 3,400 undocumented patients the center has served, 500 being children under the age of 12 who gained insurance when Connecticut state legislature signed into effect the first iteration of HUSKY’s expansion to cover undocumented children on January 1, 2023.
Lagarde invited several of Fair Haven Community Health Care’s HUSKY patients to join her at the podium, including Valdez, who hails from Ecuador.
Suzanne Lagarde (center right) introduces HUSKY participant Estefania Guanoluisa Valdez (center left).
Since arriving in the United States nearly eight months ago, Valdez has been able to schedule ophthalmological, dental, and regular pediatric appointments at Fair Haven Community Health Care under HUSKY insurance. “I feel secure knowing that she will be in good hands thanks to HUSKY,” said Valdez’s mother, Nancy Aucapina, to an audience of over 70 attendees.
Nancy Aucapina discusses HUSKY's impact on her daughter.
State Sen. and President Pro Tem Martin Looney, a driving force behind the program’s legislative success, shared his hope that kids would no longer have to go untreated or resort to the emergency room due to lack of adequate health care. “This law has already made timely and expert care available to children under 12, and will now help kids up to 15.”
The expansion of HUSKY follows the implementation of several other laws aimed at alleviating barriers for undocumented immigrants, including expanding eligibility for in-state tuition and providing guidance on the path to obtaining a Connecticut driver’s license. According to Gov. Ned Lamont, who spoke after Looney, “Connecticut will continue to take the lead” in equitable legislation, but does not anticipate any federal funding.
Husky 4 Immigrants Coalition Manager Luis Luna closed the press conference, emphasizing access to health care as a human right. “Sixty percent of undocumented immigrants don’t have access to healthcare. When people don’t have healthcare, not only do their physical and mental health suffer, but their financial health, too.”
Luis Luna, surrounded by a united front of Husky 4 Immigrants volunteers, calls for Connecticut to keep up its momentum.
Luna uplifted a testimonial from a Husky 4 Immigrants volunteer from Venezuela who was diagnosed with prostate cancer 11 months ago, but was unable to access adequate treatment. As a result, his health deteriorated due to high levels of stress and anxiety.
In closing, the celebration not only marked significant progress in access to healthcare for undocumented immigrants, but also raised a call to action to continue the expansion of HUSKY.
When asked how she feels about her healthcare coverage under the new legislation, Valdez began to punch a lengthy sentence into Google Translate before hesitating and deleting it, trying again once more before settling on a one word answer: “Fantástica”.
As Husky 4 Immigrants advocates posed for pictures after the press conference, alternating between chants of “HUSKY for all!” and “HUSKY para todas,” Valdez and a friend raced into the parking lot with Aucapina in tow, giggling without a worry. Aucapina, on the other hand, glanced back at the tent where Lamont was conversing with Husky 4 Immigrants volunteers.
“But what happens when [my daughter] turns sixteen?” Aucapina had asked.
Husky 4 Immigrants has an answer: its next goal is to expand the program to all kids under 18.