Coalition Urges Connecticut to Fund Home Care Services

A coalition of 16 disability and aging groups launched a statewide campaign at the Capitol urging continued funding for home and community-based services.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Special Needs

Photograph of the dome of the Connecticut State Capitol above bare spring trees, with an empty stone staircase leading up to the building under overcast light. — Advocates for 16 disability and aging groups launched a statewide campaign at the Connecticut Capitol urging Gov. Ned Lamont to keep funding Community First Choice home-care services. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Should Connecticut keep funding home care services for people with disabilities?

Sixteen groups gathered at the Connecticut Capitol to launch a statewide campaign calling on Governor Ned Lamont to keep funding Community First Choice and other Medicaid home and community-based services. The coalition backs programs that help people with disabilities and older adults remain at home.

Why it matters

Community First Choice lets people with disabilities direct their own long-term care, and advocates say the program is essential to their independence. The campaign comes as the state drafts its biennial budget and as costs for the program have risen sharply.

Community First Choice spending grew from $88.8 million in fiscal year 2018 to $371 million in fiscal year 2025, according to figures cited in the campaign. Final funding levels for the program remain undecided as the state's biennial budget is drafted.

The players

Ned Lamont

Ned Lamont is the Governor of Connecticut, whose administration oversees the state's Medicaid programs and biennial budget proposals.

The details

The coalition held an event at the Capitol to mark the launch of its campaign, which seeks to protect Medicaid services that let people with disabilities and older adults stay at home. Lamont previously proposed changing Community First Choice from an entitlement to a waiver program, but withdrew the overhaul after stiff public opposition. His administration says it remains committed to quality care for Connecticut residents.

Fiscal year 2018: Community First Choice costs were $88.8 million.
Fiscal year 2025: Community First Choice costs reached $371 million.
November 12, 2026: The coalition held its Capitol event launching the statewide campaign.
February 2027: Lamont is scheduled to release his proposed two-year budget.

Policy Context

Connecticut's Community First Choice program is a state Medicaid application of the federal option created under the Affordable Care Act, which lets states offer home-based long-term care. The current funding fight tests whether the state will keep that entitlement structure as program costs climb.

Families relying on Community First Choice for in-home care should watch the proposed state budget for changes to eligibility or service levels. Advocates say the program allows people to direct their own care rather than moving into facilities.

The takeaway

The fight over Community First Choice shows how state budget decisions directly determine whether people with disabilities can keep receiving care at home. Residents who rely on these services can track the February budget proposal to see how funding will change.

What happens next

Governor Lamont is scheduled to release his proposed two-year budget in February 2027, which will show whether Community First Choice funding is maintained.