Rising uninsured in CT falls hardest on middle income families; How national health reform would help

A new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds that between 1999/2000 and 2007/2008 the rise in the number of uninsured CT residents was concentrated among people living in households between two and four times the poverty level (now between $36,620 and 73,240/year for a family of three). The number of CT residents with incomes in that range rose by 7.2 percentage points; below that income, the percentage of uninsured dropped by 5.7 and above those incomes the rate barely changed (up 0.3). Also during those years, CT workers’ contributions to employer health insurance rose by 45% for single coverage and 53% for families; median incomes only rose 2.5%.
But in good news, the US House Committee on Energy & Commerce has posted online fact sheets outlining the district-by-district benefits of national health reform. The reports include the numbers of families and small businesses in each Congressional district that would receive tax credits to help pay for insurance, how many families would be protected from bankruptcy, how many residents with pre-existing conditions would get coverage, funding for community health centers, and how many uninsured residents would be covered.
Ellen Andrews