This patient at Yale New Haven Hospital has been stuck here since December. If she leaves she won't be able to get the dialysis that she needs to live. Jacqueline Rabe Thomas / CtMirror.org

The Connecticut General Assembly’s Human Services committee heard public testimony on SB 991, a bill to provide Medicaid reimbursement for community health workers, who serve as advisors in helping residents gain access to and navigate health and social services.

Nearly 80 people submitted written testimony, with all but eight people testifying in favor of the bill.

Those in support spoke to the critical role that community health workers play “to address inequities and promote health, particularly for low-income households served by Medicaid.”

Among those who spoke in opposition was DSS commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves, who said the agency could not support the bill because, among other reasons, the Governor’s proposed budget does not allocate funding for the proposal.

Katy Golvala is a member of our three-person investigative team. Originally from New Jersey, Katy earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Mathematics from Williams College and received a master’s degree in Business and Economic Journalism from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in August 2021. Her work experience includes roles as a Business Analyst at A.T. Kearney, a Reporter and Researcher at Investment Wires, and a Reporter at Inframation, covering infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean.