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CT DACA recipients can soon get health coverage on the exchange

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CT DACA recipients can soon get health coverage on the exchange


Beginning Nov. 1, Connecticut participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA, can for the first time enroll in health coverage through Access Health CT.

The change follows a federal policy finalized in May expanding the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, eligibility to DACA recipients.

The ACA allows U.S. citizens and lawfully present noncitizens to obtain health coverage and subsidies through state-based marketplaces, like Access Health CT. But, prior to the new regulations, DACA recipients weren’t considered “lawfully present” as it pertains to the ACA.

“This really fixes that exclusion that happened when DACA was created back in 2012,” said Carolina Bortolleto, a co-founder of CT Students for a Dream, a statewide organization advocating for undocumented students and their families. “It shows that expanding coverage is something our government officials know is a good thing to do.”

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With the updated regulation, DACA recipients will now be able to enroll in coverage through state-based marketplaces, like Access Health CT. They can also obtain subsidies to help cover the cost of a plan if they qualify based on their income, address, and household size. 

People can enroll online, in person, or by phone. Residents can also visit one of Access Health CT’s Navigator partner locations to get help from an enrollment specialist. 

The Biden administration estimates that more than a third of DACA recipients currently do not have health insurance and that the new rule could help 100,000 people across the country obtain coverage. 

There are roughly 2,900 DACA recipients in Connecticut as of March 2024, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Bortolleto said most DACA recipients that have health coverage get it through their employers. Some also qualify for Medicaid, known as HUSKY in Connecticut. 

But the expansion could still face legal challenges. 

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A lawsuit filed by Kansas and 18 other states seeks to block the new rule. But no decision has been made yet, meaning DACA recipients are still eligible for marketplace plans and subsidies when open enrollment starts on Nov. 1. 

‘HUSKY for immigrants’

Bortolleto said that the new federal regulation could also help bolster the ongoing push to broaden health coverage to undocumented residents in the state.

“It’s particularly significant because here in Connecticut we are fighting to expand access to HUSKY Medicaid to the undocumented population,” Bortolleto said. “It also highlights that there’s still a gap that will be left behind, even after DACA recipients are able to access the ACA.”

In Connecticut, children 15 and under, as well as people who are pregnant and postpartum, qualify for health coverage from the state regardless of immigration status.

But the effort to extend Medicaid-like coverage to children without permanent legal status has been a gradual and sometimes frustrating journey for many advocates. In 2021, legislators passed a bill opening the program to undocumented kids 8 and younger but delayed the launch until Jan. 1, 2023. In 2022, they broadened the population to include those 12 and younger.

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Last year, a measure was introduced expanding it to everyone 25 and younger. But legislators settled on a pared back version, folded into the state budget, that extends coverage to kids 15 and younger regardless of their immigration status, which went into effect in July of this year.

The program has seen strong demand. As of April of this year, over 11,000 children 12 and under who wouldn’t have otherwise qualified for Medicaid because of their immigration status were enrolled in state-sponsored Medicaid-like coverage, smashing estimates that roughly 4,250 kids would enroll. 



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Connecticut

A 300-Year-Old House, the Oldest in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Is Selling as Part of an Amenity-Filled Family Compound

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A 300-Year-Old House, the Oldest in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Is Selling as Part of an Amenity-Filled Family Compound


This two-house, two-barn compound includes the oldest home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and stands right on the town’s historic and famously charming Main Street.

“It’s actually two distinct houses, two really iconic landmark properties on Main Street” that have been carefully restored and renovated, said listing agent Laura Ancona, of William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. 

“Over $10 million has been spent in top-of-the-line improvements and designer appointments inside and out,” according to the listing.

The older home, known as the Hawley House, was built in 1713 for the Rev. Thomas Hawley, a minister who was also the schoolmaster and town clerk, Ancona said. “It’s quite a stylish home for the time, with high ceilings, wide-board floors and multiple fireplaces,” she said.

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Other features include a gambrel roof, original paneling on the fireplace wall of one living room, original fireplace mantels, many of the original hand-blown glass windows, an original Dutch door and hand-hewn beams, according to information provided by the agent. An original double-seated, white clapboard outhouse rests about 100 feet behind the home.

The 300-year-old house is on the National Register of Historic Places as well as being one of the 32 “Stations of History” on Ridgefield’s “Museum in the Streets” tour, Ancona said.

MORE: Tour More One-of-a-Kind Homes In Out Listing of the Day Series

The 1777 Battle of Ridgefield in the Revolutionary War was fought on Main Street and it was also where Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold’s horse was shot out from under him, she said. “We’re very historic, very Colonial.”

“It’s one of the top Main Streets in the country,” Ancona said. “It’s a Norman Rockwell-esque, tree-lined Main Street. Ridgefield is very protective of its Main Street.”

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The second house on the compound, a Gothic Revival Victorian, was built by Hawley’s descendants in 1826, she said. “It’s very grand, very colorful,” now with four finished levels. 

“It was not as well upkept as it should have been” when the sellers bought it in 2002 and began a multiyear renovation soon after, Ancona said. They were able to recreate much of the original architectural details from old photos.

The gray barn/carriage house associated with the Victorian has been renovated to now include a kitchen and great room that opens to the pool area, a gym and sauna, a poker room, a game room with a bar, an arcade and a movie theater for 30-plus people, she said. “It’s a completely tricked-out party barn.”

There’s also a circa-1900 red barn that now holds an indoor basketball court, an arts-and-crafts studio and a second-floor office with a conference room, according to the listing. It was updated and redone in 2012.

Both lots, which together are 3.16 acres, are quite deep with long driveways, which offers a great deal of privacy, even while being on Main Street, Ancona said. 

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“You can walk to town and still have all of this privacy,” she said. 

Stats 

The 8,934-square-foot compound has eight bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two partial bathrooms. It sits on a 3.16-acre lot.

Amenities 



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Amenities include a heated pool and spa, a pool/carriage house, two two-car garages (one with two Tesla chargers), seven fireplaces, a gym and sauna, an indoor basketball court, a brick courtyard, a pergola, an outdoor kitchen, a home office with a conference room, an arts-and-crafts studio, a bar and game room, a poker room, an arcade and a movie theater.

Neighborhood Notes 



The home is within walking distance of everything Main Street has to offer, including museums, the library, Ballard Park, an old-fashioned hardware store and lots of independent shops and restaurants, Ancona said. “There is no fast food in all of Ridgefield.”

Ridgefield is adjacent to Westchester County in New York, and it’s about a 30-minute drive to the Westchester County Airport, she said. Ridgefield is about 90 miles from Manhattan. 

Agent: Laura Ancona, William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty

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Child hospitalized after drowning incident at Connecticut campground

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Child hospitalized after drowning incident at Connecticut campground


GRANBY, Conn. (WWLP) – A juvenile was brought to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon after a reported drowning at a campground pool in Granby, Connecticut.

According to the Granby, Conn., Police Department, the incident was reported around 2:30 p.m. at High Meadow Day Camp, located at 311 North Granby Road. A Simsbury officer working a private detail at the campground was called to the pool area and began providing medical care. The patient was identified as a juvenile, whose name has not been released.

The juvenile was treated at the scene before being brought to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Officials have not released information on the child’s condition.

Azell Cavaan, the Chief Communications Officer for Springfield Public Schools, confirmed with 22News that a SPS student was taken by ambulance from High Meadow on Wednesday. It is unclear if the two incidents are connected.

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Police said numerous children who witnessed the incident later became emotionally distressed. Ambulance crews from Granby, Windsor Locks, Simsbury, and Suffield all assisted in response. In the aftermath of the incident, police encouraged anyone affected to seek support services.

“Witnessing traumatic incidents can be very unsettling. If you need to access support, the best way is by calling 211, which can connect individuals with crisis support services and other community resources,” the department said in its release.

Counseling and support services are also available through local municipalities, including the Granby Youth Service Bureau for residents.

This incident remains under investigation. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

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