Press Releases
10/15/2015
Lt. Gov. Wyman & Access Health CT Announce Connecticut's Uninsured Rate Down to 3.8 Percent, Lowest in History
(HARTFORD, CT) - Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, Chair of the Board of Access Health CT (AHCT), and AHCT CEO Jim Wadleigh today announced that the number of Connecticut residents without healthcare coverage has dropped to 3.8 percent, the lowest rate in state history and among the lowest rates in the country. The rate was determined in an analysis performed by Acturus of Farmington, which examined the 2015 insurance landscape.
Lt. Governor Wyman said, "This is good news for Connecticut. Over the past several years we've established our leadership on healthcare-a high-functioning, now self-sustaining exchange; more residents with access to preventative care and treatment for chronic illness; and a steadily declining uninsured rate. There is more to do, but this progress means a healthier and more productive state."
Governor Dannel P. Malloy said, "We made a pledge to drive down the number of uninsured residents in our state - and it's working. We are a national model of ACA, and for good reason. These numbers highlight Connecticut's success in providing quality, affordable care to those who previously didn't have it. But we cannot stop here. While these numbers show that we're making significant progress and we're moving in the right direction, we must continue to drive the uninsured rate even lower. I applaud Lt. Governor Wyman and the Access Health CT team for their ongoing efforts to ensure residents have access to quality healthcare."
Acturus (formerly The Pert Group) calculated the uninsured rate using a combination of primary data and secondary sources that include AHCT enrollment data, filing information from the Connecticut Department of Insurance, federal Medicaid enrollment data, and statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation on the 2013 Current Population Survey. They also used previous AHCT survey data that captured past insurance status of new enrollees and current insurance status of those who discontinued coverage through AHCT.
AHCT CEO Jim Wadleigh said, "Year two is tricky because you have people coming on and off the exchange and those uninsured residents are harder to find and enroll. Our team is focused on reaching out to those remaining uninsured, as well as working to retain those who have already enrolled. These numbers are going in the right direction and, while we still have work to do, we are pleased to see more people with quality, affordable healthcare coverage in Connecticut."
Prior to the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2012, Connecticut's uninsured rate was eight percent.
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Office of Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman