The State Supreme Court's decision means that the Department of Social Services (DSS) can now implement a 2009 state law that severely limited access to assistance under the State Medical Assistance for Noncitizens (SMANC) program.
Since 1996, noncitizens living in the U.S. legally for less than five years have been ineligible for federally funded public assistance. The state has offered state-funded assistance during this period, including SMANC.
PA 09-5, September Special Session, limited this assistance to noncitizens (1) receiving home care services or (2) receiving nursing home care as of September 8, 2009 and either receiving or had applied for state-funded assistance. Additionally, certain children and pregnant women could continue to get coverage. But DSS never implemented the legislation because Greater Hartford Legal Aid sued the department, claiming the law was unconstitutional on equal protection grounds, and the Superior Court agreed.
The Supreme Court disagreed. Governor Malloy’s FYs 13 and 14 budget assumed savings of about $9.5 million each year in anticipation of the court’s ruling.
