The Connecticut Healthcare Affordability Index (CHAI) has been updated to reflect 2022 data. The University of Washington School of Social Work, Center for Women’s Welfare first developed CHAI in 2019 on behalf of Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy, Office of the State Comptroller and the Connecticut Health Foundation. The index helps consumers, policymakers and state officials assess the impact of healthcare costs on families.

The CHAI Summary Report 2024 looks at how healthcare affordability changed in Connecticut between 2019 and 2022, highlighting the challenges families face and the factors influencing their ability to access and afford the high cost of healthcare.

Key Findings

• In 2022, over a quarter of working-age households in Connecticut couldn’t afford basic necessities like healthcare, housing, childcare, food, and transportation. This number is worse than in 2019 as wages have not kept up with the high cost of healthcare, housing, and childcare.

• Families with different types of health insurance had different experiences. For example, 13.8% of households with insurance through their job could not afford basic needs compared to 27.8% of households who bought insurance on the individual market, and 69.8% of households that were eligible for Medicaid.

• Fewer households had unaffordable healthcare expenses in 2022 compared to 2019. This change was not spread evenly across insurance types. Families covered by employer-sponsored health insurance saw costs rise. By contrast, those buying individual-market coverage saw lower premiums and benefited from more assistance with their premium costs from a tax credit that was part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). That tax credit is set to expire in 2025.