Connecticut's five U.S. House members are opposing a new federal rule requiring Medicaid patients with cancer and other serious illnesses to prove their condition limits their ability to work or risk losing coverage.

Reps. John B. Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes, and Jahana Hayes sent a comment letter opposing an Interim Final Rule from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), addressed to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz. The rule implements work requirements under H.R. 1, effective January 1, 2027.

The lawmakers argue the "medically frail" definition is restrictive and contrary to statute, tying it to a patient's ability to work in a way that excludes people whose conditions are well-managed, intermittent, or unpredictable. States, they warn, will need documentation they cannot interpret.

H.R. 1 cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid starting January 1, 2027, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects 10 million Americans losing coverage.

The Members wrote, "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 delegation urges CMS to revoke the rule and adopt flexibilities limiting coverage loss.  The full text of the delegation’s letter is available here.