In Comment Letter, Connecticut Delegation Members Slam Trump Administration’s New “Medical Frailty” Restrictions

Washington, D.C. - Today, Reps. John B. Larson (CT-01), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Jim Himes (CT-04), and Jahana Hayes (CT-05) slammed the latest health care cuts imposed by the Trump Administration.

In a letter sent last week, the Members expressed their opposition to a new rule announced last month by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Department of Health and Human Services, which exceeds the law's requirements in implementing new work reporting requirements and creates an unworkable and burdensome process for patients, providers, and states. Under the new restrictions, cancer patients and patients suffering from other debilitating diseases will be required to document that the disease actually impairs their ability to work or face losing their health care coverage.

"The overwhelming impact of this rule is that eligible citizens will be denied Medicaid coverage, states will expend unacceptable resources processing complex paperwork, safety-net providers will be further burdened, and population health will decline," the Members wrote.

The letter was submitted under a comment period for the rule, which is set to take effect on January 1^st, 2027. Read the full letter text here.

The Big Ugly Bill (H.R. 1) cuts $1 trillion from the Medicaid program, America's largest health care program, starting on January 1st, 2027. Due to this draconian cut to the health care system, 10 million Americans will lose their coverage, according to estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.