When Ryan Loosemore was 16, he broke his neck in a bicycle accident, altering his life forever. He spent the next two years in a rehabilitation hospital, but he wasn’t able to go home after. Loosemore said his mother didn’t have the support needed to care for him.
“So at 18 years old, I ended up going to a nursing facility,” Loosemore said.
During his year and a half in the nursing home, he met another person with a disability who told him about Community First Choice, a state Medicaid program that allows people with disabilities to direct their own long-term care.
Loosemore said it gave him his life back.
“When I was able to transition from the institution out into the community, I felt like it was completely life changing,” Loosemore said. “I felt like from the moment when I broke my neck and went into the institution as if my life was taken away, everything was in the unknown.”
Loosemore, who lives in Middletown, has been on Community First Choice for over 10 years. He joined advocates Thursday to call on Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont to continue funding CFC and other Medicaid home and community-based services.
A coalition of 16 groups held an event at the Capitol to mark the launch of a statewide campaign to support programs that help people with disabilities and older adults stay at home and live in their communities.
Cathryn Vaulman, Lamont’s director of communications, said in a statement that the governor understands how important the services are for Connecticut residents, “and his administration is committed to making sure these residents receive quality care and to working alongside the disability community to strengthen it.”
Walter Glomb, executive director of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities, said it's important to raise awareness about how these programs help people, especially while the biennial budget is being drafted.
“If they care for these programs, if they depend on these programs, now is the time for them to communicate to the governor,” Glomb said.
Lamont previously proposed overhauling the CFC program. His administration pointed to rising costs, which went from $88.8 million in fiscal year 2018 to $371 million in fiscal year 2025.
Under the proposal, CFC would have been changed from an entitlement to a waiver program, potentially limiting who could access services. Lamont backed off the proposal in the face of stiff public opposition.
“No one's forgotten what happened with CFC,” Glomb said. “There are many organizations and individuals here who are concerned that we may have to face something like that again, but we don't know where.”
Glomb said increased Medicaid costs are adding to advocates’ concerns about another proposed reduction in services.
Loosemore said the prospect of cuts lingers on his mind.
“It gives me anxiety,” Loosemore said. “But that's why I'm sitting here advocating for the importance of these home care-based services and what they do for people with disabilities, such as myself.”
Lamont will release his proposed two-year budget in February 2027.
