HARTFORD – A new report from The Commonwealth Fund paints a devastating picture of the effects of the proposed budget plan led by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans. The plan would take away millions of Connecticut residents’ healthcare and food assistance while there would be over a billion dollars in reduced economic activity, over a $100 million less in state revenue and nearly 10,000 jobs lost – just in fiscal year 2026.
The Congressional budget plan requires cuts of $880 billion over the next 10 years, which would necessitate sweeping cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“At a time when Americans are struggling to pay for groceries, rent, healthcare and are bracing themselves for the effects of Trump’s tariffs, it is unconscionable that this administration is pursuing cuts to programs that offer food and healthcare to our most vulnerable,” said Senate President Martin Looney.
“The numbers in this report are staggering and each one represents a Connecticut resident who will forgo necessary treatments, ration their meals or lose their job,” he added. “These policies will also undermine and destabilize Connecticut’s economy after years of careful management.”
The budget plan Republicans are moving through Congress requires broad cuts to direct healthcare and food assistance programs, but these programs also have significant impacts to the national and state economies. In fiscal year 2026 alone, Medicaid and SNAP cuts are predicted to bring on $1.16 billion in GDP loss for Connecticut’s economy, 9,400 Connecticut residents are expected to lose their jobs and local and state tax loss will exceed $120 million.
The nationwide impacts are severe: over $112 billion in GDP loss, over one million American jobs lost, and nearly $9 billion in local and state tax loss.
See chart showing impact on Connecticut
“While Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans take a chainsaw to the federal budget, they are cutting programs that meet Americans’ basic needs,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff. “These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet; there is real and significant human cost to these cuts. Republicans in Congress need to find their backbone and stand up for the very people who sent them to Washington D.C.”
The Commonwealth Fund’s goal in undertaking the study was to estimate the impact of broad-based funding reductions in Medicaid and SNAP for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, assuming that cuts would be distributed evenly over the decade and proportionally across states. They used the IMPLAN economic modeling system to project the effects on state economies, employment, and taxes.
“This report confirmed what we feared, we are staring down the barrel of a devastating federal budget,” said state Sen. Matt Lesser, chair of the Human Services Committee. “SNAP and Medicaid help millions of Connecticut residents stay healthy and fed, and without these programs Connecticut residents will skip meals, lose healthcare coverage and forgo care, rural hospitals will close and to put it bluntly – people will die.”
The Commonwealth Fund itself was created to promote a high-performing, equitable health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable, including people of color, people with low income, and those who are uninsured.
