Connecticut’s Medicaid program, known as HUSKY Health, is undergoing the most significant changes it has seen in years. For aging adults and families trying to protect their assets from nursing home costs, the window for effective planning is getting shorter. Understanding what is changing and what tools are available is not just good estate planning. Right now, it is urgent.
What Is Changing in Connecticut Medicaid
The federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in 2025, set in motion a series of Medicaid changes that are taking effect on a rolling basis through 2028. Several of them directly affect aging adults and families planning for long-term care.
Beginning January 1, 2027, Connecticut Medicaid recipients must demonstrate they are working 80 hours per month, or meet that standard through some combination of work, job training, volunteering, or enrollment in education programs, or risk losing coverage. It is estimated that 110,000 Connecticut residents will lose Medicaid coverage as a result of work requirements, and in other states where similar rules have been implemented, the vast majority of people who lost coverage should not have, because they were working or exempt but could not document their compliance due to administrative barriers.
Beginning January 1, 2027, the state must also redetermine eligibility every six months for people covered under HUSKY D, the Medicaid expansion program for adults under 65 without minor children. Every redetermination creates a risk of losing coverage due to administrative issues, even for people who still qualify.
For families navigating long-term care planning specifically, the asset limit remains a significant hurdle. In 2026, a single nursing home Medicaid applicant in Connecticut must have assets under $1,600 to qualify. With nursing home costs running close to $165,000 per year in Connecticut, families who have not planned ahead can find themselves spending through a lifetime of savings before Medicaid steps in.
What an Irrevocable Trust Does
An irrevocable trust is a legal structure that removes assets from your ownership and places them in a trust you no longer control in the same way you control personally held assets. Because those assets are no longer legally yours, they are not counted toward Medicaid’s asset limit when you apply for benefits.
This is the core purpose of Medicaid asset protection planning: to restructure ownership of your assets in a way that allows you to qualify for Medicaid coverage for long-term care without spending down everything you have worked to build.
The critical word here is timing. Connecticut Medicaid’s five-year look-back period means that asset transfers made within five years of applying for benefits can trigger a penalty period of ineligibility. For an irrevocable trust to accomplish its purpose, it needs to be funded at least five years before you need to apply for Medicaid.
That is why the changes taking effect now matter so much. Every year of delay is a year that does not count toward the look-back period.
What the Trust Protects and What It Does Not
An irrevocable trust can hold real estate, investment accounts, bank accounts, and other assets. Once those assets are transferred in, they are generally protected from Medicaid’s asset calculation and from the state’s estate recovery program, which allows Connecticut to file claims against your estate after death to recoup Medicaid benefits paid on your behalf.
It is important to understand the trade-offs. Because the trust is irrevocable, you give up direct control over the assets inside it. You can still receive income generated by those assets in certain structures, and you can retain certain rights depending on how the trust is drafted. But you cannot simply take assets back out of the trust whenever you choose.
This is not a structure to enter into lightly or without experienced legal guidance. The terms of the trust, what rights you retain, what income you receive, and how the trust is administered all affect whether it accomplishes your planning goals and holds up to Medicaid scrutiny.
Why Timing Matters More Than Ever
The federal changes now moving through Connecticut’s Medicaid system are creating uncertainty at every level. Eligibility rules are tightening. Redetermination timelines are shortening. Work requirements are adding new administrative burdens. And the political and legal landscape around Medicaid continues to shift.
Access Health CT estimates that the total impact of these federal changes will cause 30 to 35 percent of people who are currently enrolled to be uninsured by 2034. While that figure encompasses the broader Medicaid population, it reflects just how significant the disruption is expected to be.
For families whose primary concern is protecting assets from long-term care costs, the message is straightforward. The five-year look-back period means that planning done today does not protect you from a nursing home admission tomorrow. It protects you five years from now. Waiting until a crisis forces the issue is waiting too long.
The Bottom Line
Federal changes to Connecticut Medicaid are not a distant policy concern. They are reshaping the planning landscape right now. For aging adults and families with assets to protect, an irrevocable trust remains one of the most effective tools available, but only when it is put in place with enough time to work.
The Law Offices of Charles L. Kurmay has 100+ years of combined experience helping Connecticut families navigate Medicaid planning, irrevocable trust structuring, and long-term care protection strategies. Contact us to discuss your situation before the window narrows further.
