Connecticut

Status of reform effort: The legislature passed Governor Rell’s Charter Oak Health Plan to provide health care coverage for uninsured adults.  Legislation was also passed to create a Health First Authority that is charged with developing a comprehensive health reform plan, to be completed by December 1, 2008.

In December 2006, Governor M. Jodi Rell (R) announced two proposals to expand health care coverage, including the Charter Oak Health Plan and the HUSKY Health 2007 initiative.  The Charter Oak Plan would provide affordable health care coverage to uninsured adults, age 19 to 64 of all incomes, who do not have health insurance through an employer.  The plan would offer a state-defined benefit package and premium subsidies based on a sliding scale.  The HUSKY Health 2007 seeks to ensure that all newborns and school-age children are enrolled in the state’s HUSKY (Medicaid and SCHIP) plan.  It proposed to require health insurance status notification at the beginning of every school year.

In June 2007, the legislature passed the Governor’s Charter Oak Health Plan as part of the 2008-2009 Biennial Budget Bill (HB 8002).  Through private insurers, The Charter Oak Plan will provide health care coverage for all adults who have been uninsured for at least six months and who are ineligible for other state programs.  The plan includes the following components:

• Premium subsidies for individuals with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level
• Tiered co-payments for prescription drugs
• Target premium of about $250 per month (though the benefit package has not been defined)
• Elimination of preexisting condition exclusions
• No maximum annual benefits, but a lifetime coverage of $1 million

Governor Rell’s administration is talking to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about the potential for partial federal funding for the premium subsidies.  Residents began applying for coverage under the Charter Oak Health Plan on June 30, 2008.  As of July 31, 2008, 5,351 individuals had applied for coverage, and 24 had started coverage.

Also, in June 2007, the State legislature passed the HealthFirst Connecticut and Healthy Kids Initiative(SB 1484).  SB 1484 created a Health First Authority that is charged with drafting a plan to provide health insurance to every Connecticut resident, to be completed by December 1, 2008.  The legislation expands the state’s Medicaid program to parents with incomes up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level and pregnant women with incomes up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level, and improves outreach to enroll children in Medicaid and SCHIP.  The legislation also calls for the automatic enrollment of all uninsured newborns into the HUSKY program and the state will cover any required premiums for the first four months.  It also increases the age of dependent coverage from 23 to 26 and eliminates the current full-time student eligibility requirement.*