What Connecticut offers residents without insurance, from HUSKY and Covered CT to hospital bill limits
A resident of Connecticut who earns a little too much for Medicaid can still get a private health plan that costs nothing. The state pays the whole premium and every deductible and copay under a program no other state has. Hospitals may not collect more than their own cost of care from low-income uninsured patients, and medical debt may not appear on a credit report. This is a plain-English guide to these programs for people who lack insurance or struggle to pay for it.
In addition to those programs, every child gets vaccines free regardless of insurance, and a state office argues billing disputes for you at no charge. If a bill has already arrived, the state rules below add protections on top of other programs on this site. This page sets out those rules and the programs behind them in plain terms, along with cancer screening, HIV medication help, mental health care, Medicare savings, and clinics.
Coverage comes in three forms, and one application help get you into into the right one
The bottom layer is HUSKY Health, Connecticut's name for both Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. The middle layer is the Covered Connecticut Program, which turns a marketplace plan into free coverage for adults just above the HUSKY income limit. The top layer is a private plan bought through Access Health CT with federal tax credits that lower the monthly price, and stand-alone dental plans are sold there as well.
Children, pregnant residents, and families with an immigration issue may get care as well. There are state funded options.
- Children from birth through age 15 who cannot get regular HUSKY because of immigration status may enroll in state-funded HUSKY A or HUSKY B. A child enrolled before turning 16 keeps the coverage through age 18. These applications are taken by phone at 855-805-4325 or on paper, not online, and no immigration documents are requested. Details are at https://portal.ct.gov/dss/health-and-home-care/state-husky-a-and-husky-b-for-children-health-coverage/faq?language=en_US
- Pregnant residents qualify for HUSKY A at a higher income limit than other adults, and coverage continues for a full year after the pregnancy ends. Pregnant residents excluded by immigration status may get HUSKY B prenatal coverage with the same year of care afterward and no premium.
Access Health CT takes the application for all three online, by phone at 855-805-4325, and through free to use case workers across the state. HUSKY and Covered Connecticut accept applications on any day of the year. Private plans with tax credits are limited to a yearly enrollment window and to life events such as losing a job or having a baby. Navigators, enrollment specialists, and certified brokers help at no charge, and all are listed at https://www.accesshealthct.com/get-help/.
One dental plan for everyone on HUSKY or Covered Connecticut
Adults and children in every part of HUSKY, and members of the Covered Connecticut Program, get dental care through the Connecticut Dental Health Partnership. The plan may pay for a wide range of services, including but not limited to exams, cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals, crowns, dentures, and oral surgery.
HUSKY B families pay small copays, and everyone else pays nothing. Staff at 855-283-3682 find a participating dentist, book the visit, and set up a ride, and the plan's site is https://ctdhp.org/. People with no coverage at all can look for low cost or free dental care from dental clinics in Connecticut, which this site lists by town.
Health centers that bill by income
Federally funded community health centers across Connecticut charge according to household size and income and see patients with no coverage and no ability to pay. Most offer dental and behavioral health care, and all can be found by ZIP code at https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/. The guide to free health care clinics in Connecticut described on this site include those centers and the volunteer-run clinics in several cities. For dental needs, see the free dental clinics in Connecticut page.
A marketplace plan that costs nothing under the Covered Connecticut Program
The Covered Connecticut Program serves residents from 19 through 64 whose income is too high for HUSKY but under a limit the state sets each year. A member chooses a Silver plan through Access Health CT and accepts all the federal help available. The state then pays the rest of the premium along with every deductible, copay, and coinsurance amount the plan would normally charge.
The program adds dental coverage and rides to medical appointments, so the result works much like HUSKY even though the card comes from a private insurer. The Access Health CT application checks for the program on its own, and the rules are posted at accesshealthct and at http://portal.ct.gov/dss/health-and-home-care/covered-connecticut-program.
What Connecticut hospitals may charge you, and what they may not do
State law forbids a hospital from collecting more than its own cost of care from an uninsured patient. The law's definition covers a person with no coverage whose income is under a limit written into the statute and who applied for HUSKY and was turned down. A collection agent must tell you in writing whether the hospital classed you as insured or uninsured, and why. See details to this and other rules at the Connecticut Insurance Department site at https://portal.ct.gov/cid/consumer-information-center.
Every hospital also has a financial assistance policy and, in most cases, a free bed fund, which is donated money set aside for patients who cannot pay. A patient who qualifies for the bed fund may not have wages garnished or a home foreclosed on to collect that hospital's bill.
Medical debt from a hospital, a doctor, or a collector may not be reported to a credit bureau in Connecticut, and a debt reported anyway becomes void. The state also runs a debt cancellation effort that reaches eligible residents by letter, with no application to file.
The Healthcare Advocate's office and its hospital assistance directory
The Office of the Healthcare Advocate is a state agency that helps residents at no charge with insurance denials, appeals, plan choices, and bills. Its directory at https://portal.ct.gov/oha/get-help/hospital-assistance lists every hospital by county with the phone number and application link for that hospital's financial assistance office. Call 866-466-4446, email [email protected], or use the online inquiry form on the same site.
Cancer and heart screening through one state program
The Connecticut Early Detection and Prevention Program, run by the Department of Public Health, pays hospitals and clinics across the state to screen residents who are uninsured or underinsured and under its income limit. For women from 21 through 64, it may pay for mammograms, Pap and HPV tests, clinical exams, and the follow-up tests an abnormal result requires. A woman diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer through the program may then qualify for full HUSKY coverage during treatment. Women in the program who are 40 or older may also get heart disease screening under WISEWOMAN.
The same program may pay for a diagnostic colonoscopy for residents between 45 and 75 after a positive stool test, and for lung cancer screening for longtime smokers between 50 and 80. Call 860-509-7804 to be matched with a screening site, or read the enrollment steps at https://portal.ct.gov/dph/cedpp.
Help with HIV drugs and premiums through CADAP
The Connecticut AIDS Drug Assistance Program may pay for HIV medications and drugs for related conditions for residents living with HIV whose income is under a limit far above Medicaid's. There is no asset limit, and members who could qualify for HUSKY must apply for it.
A companion program, Connecticut Insurance Premium Assistance, may pay health insurance premiums for members who hold an approved policy. Apply through the program's enrollment portal, and call 800-233-2503 or 860-424-4903 with questions.
Transplant costs from a fund residents donate to
The Connecticut Program for Organ Transplant Recipients, known as ConnTRANS (website: https://www.myplacect.org/services-and-supports/financial-options/the-connecticut-program-for-organ-transplant-recipients/), is paid for mostly by residents who give part of their state tax refund to it. It may help a transplant recipient with costs such as insurance premiums, hospital bills, prescriptions, travel, lodging, and child care. Help lasts up to twelve months and only while money remains in the fund. Applications come from the hospital's transplant unit or from the Department of Social Services adult support unit at 860-424-5250.
Every child gets vaccines free, and uninsured adults do too
Connecticut buys childhood vaccines in bulk and supplies them at no cost to doctors, clinics, and local health departments. Any child under 19 therefore gets routine vaccines free regardless of insurance status through the Connecticut Vaccine Program. A second arm, Connecticut Vaccines for Adults, supplies certain adult vaccines at no cost to providers for uninsured residents 19 and older. Ask your doctor or local health department whether it takes part, or call the immunization program at 860-509-7929. The state page is https://portal.ct.gov/dph/individuals-and-families/immunizations.
State-funded mental health and addiction care for adults who cannot pay
The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services exists to serve 18 and older with a mental health or substance use condition who lack the means to pay for treatment. It operates or funds a Local Mental Health Authority in every region, and a person may walk in or call without insurance. The regional directory is at https://portal.ct.gov/dmhas/programs-and-services/dmhas-directories/local-mental-health-authorities. HUSKY members instead call the Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership at 877-552-8247, which finds a covered provider.
Medicare premiums paid with no asset test, and free counseling
Connecticut's Medicare Savings Program pays the Part B premium for Medicare enrollees under income limits roughly double the federal minimum, and it counts no savings, property, or other assets. The lowest income level, called QMB, also pays Part A premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance. Everyone accepted into any level is automatically approved for Extra Help with drug costs. Apply through the Department of Social Services at 855-626-6632 or with the short form at https://portal.ct.gov/DSS/Health-And-Home-Care/Medicare-Savings-Program/Medicare-Savings-Program/Apply.
CHOICES is the state's free Medicare counseling service, reached at 800-994-9422. Its counselors compare plans, complete savings program applications, and dispute bills a QMB member should not have received.
MED-Connect for working adults with disabilities, and the Katie Beckett waiver for children
MED-Connect lets an adult with a disability who is working keep full HUSKY coverage under an income limit well above the regular one, and only the applicant's own income counts. Some members pay a monthly premium based on earnings. Apply through the Department of Social Services at 855-626-6632.
The Katie Beckett waiver provides Medicaid to children with a physical disability whose family income would otherwise be too high, so the child can be cared for at home. Enrollment is capped and there is a waiting list, so apply early through the DSS community options unit.
Phone numbers sorted by what you need
Access Health CT at 855-805-4325 covers HUSKY A, B, and D, the Covered Connecticut Program, and private plans. The Department of Social Services benefits center at 855-626-6632 handles HUSKY C, the Medicare Savings Program, and MED-Connect. Current HUSKY members with a question about a card or a covered service call member services at 800-859-9889. Dialing 211 reaches a free, confidential line that runs around the clock, with the state's largest database of clinics and programs at 211ct.org. For a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988.
Medical disclaimer: This page is general information about assistance programs and is not medical, legal, or financial advice. It cannot diagnose or treat any condition. Talk with a licensed health professional about your care and confirm eligibility rules directly with each program.
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