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Officials: rollback of COVID expansions and new cost‑share put 405 first‑responder children off subsidy; wider cuts could drop enrollment 20%
Summary
Public health said it removed COVID‑era expansions (including first‑responder carve‑outs) and reinstated a family cost‑share in January; staff estimated the first‑responder rollback affected about 405 children and that a Mississippi‑style eligibility tightening could reduce enrollment by roughly 20% (about 591 children).
Committee members asked whether program changes would leave families without support. BCCS staff said the rollback of first‑responder eligibility in July affected 405 children who are no longer under subsidy. "When we rolled it back as of in July, that means there were a total of 405 kids that were affected that as of today are no longer under the program," an administrator said.
Officials also described reinstating the pre‑COVID family co‑share in January, which requires parents to pay part of the cost rather than the program covering 100 percent. Staff presented an analysis based on a hypothetical narrower income threshold (mirroring another state's model) showing that moving to a tighter eligibility band could reduce the number of subsidized children by about 20 percent — an estimated loss of roughly 591 children under one scenario.
Senators asked whether the legislature could fund local dollars to restore eligibility for first responders or cover the co‑share; agency staff said cost estimates could be produced if senators provided direction.
