Medicaid Reimbursement, Child Tax Credit, and more

February 3, 2025


 
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Dear Neighbor,
Happy Monday - I hope you have a great week.

The recent efforts by the federal government to pause trillions of dollars in federal grants - including over $14 billion in Connecticut - and the ramping up of arrests of immigrants in our communities has left many with uncertainty, anxiety, and fear.

While much is unknown about the future, what I can say for sure is my colleagues and I will continue to fight to improve the lives of the residents of Farmington, Plainville, Southington, and our whole state.
 

In this eblast, you can read about some of those efforts, including a push to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates, fighting for a child tax credit for Connecticut families, and more. You can click on the links below to navigate between sections.
 
Increasing Medicaid Reimbursement Rates

I understand what's going on nationally, but we can't stop doing our jobs for the people of Connecticut, and that starts with putting forward good public policy.

House and Senate Democratic leaders announced last week a legislative proposal to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for providers, which is long overdue. A recent state Medicaid Rate Study found that Connecticut lags well behind peer states when paying providers under Connecticut’s Medicaid program. Many areas of care are currently reimbursed at the same levels they were in 2007.

Increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates is a worthy investment, and that’s the type of good work we’re going to keep doing here.

You can watch my colleagues speak on this proposal here.
 
Fighting for Connecticut Families
I was excited to speak at the child tax credit press conference last week. I joined more than 60 of my colleagues in introducing Proposed House Bill 5986: An Act Establishing A Refundable Child Tax Credit Against The Personal Income Tax.
This bill would create a permanent, refundable child tax credit of $600 per child (for up to three children) for tax filers earning:
$100,000 or less (single filers)
$200,000 or less (married filing jointly)
Every $1 in child tax credits generates $1.38 in local economic activity. With nearly 40% of Connecticut families struggling to make ends meet, this credit will provide direct relief to 550,000 children across the state.
Connecticut is the only high-cost-of-living state with a broad-based income tax that does not adjust for family size or childcare expenses. It’s time to change that.

You can read the bill here.

You can watch my remarks here.
 

Let’s get this done!
 
Introduction of the Feeding Connecticut Caucus
I'm so proud to be part of the newly-launched Feeding Connecticut Caucus, chaired by Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw and Sen. Eric Berthel.

You can watch the caucus' introductory press conference here.

This session, the caucus will focus our advocacy on HB 5831 - An Act Concerning Funding for Nutrition Assistance.

1 in 8 Connecticut residents (468,150), including 1 in 6 children (112,000) is food insecure in CT according to Feeding America. Worth noting, also food insecure in Connecticut:

  • 1 in 4 Black persons
  • 1 in 4 Hispanic persons
  • 1 in 11 white non-Hispanic persons

The newly formed caucus will be asking for $10 million of appropriations dollars to support the CT-Nutrition Assistance Program (CT-NAP), which provides fresh food to Connecticut Foodshare, food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters across CT.

Also, 15% of the funds would be used. to purchase produce and other products from Connecticut farmers.

  • 1 in 4 Black persons
  • 1 in 4 Hispanic persons
  • 1 in 11 white non-Hispanic persons

Our nutrition assistance program is severely underfunded, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure all Connecticut residents are fed.
 
Sincerely,

Rebecca Martinez
State Representative
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