A surge in demand is straining Connecticut’s community health centers.
The rise comes as federal rollbacks to Medicaid are placing pressure on providers and potentially presenting roadblocks to patients seeking care.
Over the last five years, the state’s community health centers saw an 18% increase in patient volume, new federal data shows. Across Connecticut, the centers provided care to more than 450,000 patients – or about 1 in 8 people statewide.
“This growth reflects the increasing demand for accessible care across Connecticut,” Shawn K. Frick, CEO of the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut, said in a statement. “Our community health centers continue to improve health care access for residents across the state.”
In the past year, new services were added, new sites were opened in communities and schools, and additional mobile vans were sent out to provide health care to people where they live, Frick said.
In 2024, 80% of patients at Connecticut’s 17 community health centers identified as racial or ethnic minorities. The majority lived below the federal poverty line and were insured by Medicaid, 17% had commercial insurance. Fifteen percent were uninsured, according to the federal Uniform Data System.
One of those centers, Generations Family Health Center in Willimantic, sees nearly 20,000 people at its centers statewide.
“We struggle to have enough capacity to meet the demand,” said Melissa Meyers, CEO. “Every day, on average, about 10% more patients are seeking care than they were last year.”
Meyers said the center faces additional pressure from federal changes to Medicaid in July, under the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
If federal Medicaid cuts cause Connecticut residents to lose coverage, Meyers said that will present a barrier to patients. “They're going to think, ‘I can't go get care.’ So what's really important is that we communicate all the time that because of our mission, we will see you regardless of your ability to pay.”
The looming federal Medicaid changes are leading to an additional demand surge at Wheeler Clinic in Hartford.
“Over 70% of our patient population are enrolled in the state's Medicaid program, and so what we've seen in the last six months is an increased utilization of our services,” said Sabrina Trocchi, CEO at Wheeler Clinic.
“I think a number of our patients are concerned about what they're hearing is happening at the federal level and how it will impact their services,” Trocchi said. “And while they currently know they have access to care, they're coming in for services.”
