Discussing Health Care with Senator Blumenthal with Mark Masselli

In January, 2018, Senator Richard Blumenthal visited Community Health Center in Meriden to talk about the impact that will be felt across our state if the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, and community health center funding is not passed soon.

The continued lack of action by Congress has already causing harm as families worry whether their children will have adequate health care coverage and as health centers struggle to make important hiring and other decisions about their services during this time of uncertainty.

The importance of this is further highlighted by a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control noting that Connecticut’s Hispanic infant mortality rate is among nation’s worst. In particular, Connecticut was highlighted as one of the eight states where rates were above the national average. The report noted that the Hispanic infant mortality rate in Connecticut is twice the rate for white population.

While much more analysis needs to be done, but one of the factors is the lack of access to health insurance. This is especially important in diverse and under-served populations around our state. This isn’t about politics, it is about the people of our state; their health, their well-being, and their lives. We hope that there will be a bi-partisan uprising in Congress to take care of the people’s work and get these bills funding CHIP and community health center passed before more damage in done.