ACA and covering the uninsured: How did CT do?

An analysis of new Census data finds that 88,000 more CT residents had coverage last year than the year before, largely due to expansions under the Affordable Care Act. CT’s uninsured rate dropped from 9.4% in 2013 to 6.9% last year. However that drop was less than the US average and far less than other states like CT that expanded Medicaid. The drop in the uninsured was accompanied by a large increase in Medicaid enrollment, and a smaller increase in people directly purchasing coverage. About half the remaining uninsured are eligible for either Medicaid or subsidized coverage through AccessHealthCT, the state health insurance exchange. As in the past, CT’s remaining uninsured are more likely to be poor or near poor, less educated, non-citizens, work part time and live in Fairfield County. Employer-sponsored coverage dipped slightly last year, but it has been slowly declining for over a decade. In fact, the drop last year was less than the average annual drop since 1999. The ACA did not adversely impacted employer-sponsored coverage in CT.