Connecticut Health Insurance

Health insurance in Connecticut

● Connecticut enrolls through a state health insurance market, Access Health CT.

● Registration open for 2021 plans from November 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020.

● Two insurers - Anthem and Connect care Benefits - offer individual and small-group coverage through Connecticut's health insurance market.

● The average individual market premium changes for 2021 are a slight decrease for ConnectiCare and an increase of less than 2% for Anthem.

● Nearly 108,000 subscribers to the 2020 coverage through the Connecticut exchange.

● Connecticut was the first state to adopt the ACA's Medicaid expansion.

● Connecticut limits the duration of the short-term health insurance plan to six months, without renewals, and also requires them to cover essential health benefits. As a result, there are no more insurers offering short-term plans in the state.

This page provides information for consumers with questions about health insurance in Connecticut. We've included an overview of the Connecticut health insurance market (exchange) and the upcoming open enrollment period; details about Medicare expansion in Connecticut; an explanation for the state's lack of short-term health insurance policies, details about Medicare in Connecticut, and the upcoming open enrollment period that applies to Medicare beneficiaries; as well as various health insurance resources for Connecticut residents.

Connecticut's health insurance marketplace

Access Health CT is a successful state-run marketplace that avoided many of the technical issues that plagued other exchanges in the early years of operation. The exchange is used by individuals, families and small businesses who have to purchase health insurance coverage.

Individual market policies are purchased by people who are self-employed, retired before the age of 65 or employed by a small business that does not provide health benefits. People who purchase these individual market plans through the exchange are able to obtain financial assistance (premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions) depending on family income. These grants reduce monthly premium costs and out-of-pocket medical costs.

Open enrollment period and dates in Connecticut

Open enrollment for 2021 coverage in Connecticut is scheduled from November 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020. This was still the window planned starting in September 2020, but in past years, Access Health CT has issued last-minute extensions. So while it's possible that the enrollment deadline could be extended, Connecticut residents should plan to renew or select new coverage for 2021 by December 15, 2020.

The open enrollment period is an opportunity for individuals and families to check the availability of insurance plans for next year and renew or change existing coverage or recently enroll in a plan for 2021.

[The sign-up window from November 1 to December 15 does not apply to small-group plans; employers can select a plan at any time during the year in order to provide health benefits to employees and thus establish an open enrollment period during which employees sign up for coverage for the next plan year.]

Outside of the open enrollment period, Connecticut residents need a qualifying event to enroll or make a change to their coverage.

Due to 2019, pregnancy is a qualifying event that allows a woman to enroll in ACA-compliant individual market coverage in Connecticut.

Enrollment for 2020 coverage through Access Health CT reached 107,833 people during open enrollment, which is the lowest since 2014. As of early 2020, there were 103,955 people enrolled in private plans authorized through Access Health CT.

Health insurance companies and premiums in Connecticut

Two health insurance companies - Anthem and ConnectiCare - offer individual/family and small-group coverage through Access Health CT. Both insurers have a state-wide service area. For individual market plans, the average rate changes approved for 2021 are a slight decrease for ConnectiCare and a 1.9% increase for Anthem. And for the small group market, average rate changes are a 4.1% decrease for ConnectiCare and a 2.6% increase for Anthem.

Most insurance companies that sell small-group plans in Connecticut do so outside of the exchange. By 2021, most of these insurers are increasing premiums by an average of 4-11%. Small businesses

Purchase coverage for its employees can use Access Health CT, with a choice of plans offered by Anthem or ConnectiCare, or can shop directly with one of eight insurance companies that offer plans outside the exchange.

Medicaid expansion in Connecticut

In 2010, Connecticut was the first state to adopt the Medicaid expansion, and again expanded Medicaid eligibility criteria for the program in early 2014.

As of May 2020, 868,067 people had Medicaid coverage through Husky Health - Connecticut's Medicaid and CHIP program.

Availability of short-term health insurance in Connecticut

In 2018, the Trump administration relaxed rules on the duration of short-term health insurance policies, but rules allow states to continue imposing stricter restrictions, and Connecticut does.

The state has already limited short-term coverage to no more than six months in duration and has banned renewals. Starting in 2019, Connecticut began requiring short-term health plans to cover essential health benefits. As a result, there are no more insurers offering short-term plans in the state.

How Obamacare helped Connecticut

Connecticut opted for a state-based exchange, Access Health CT, and expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The state's uninsured rate has fallen considerably since the ACA was implemented. In 2017, Connecticut's uninsured rate was among the lowest in the country, although the number of uninsured went back in 2018 and again in 2019. According to official U.S. Census data, the uninsured rate in Connecticut was 9.4% in 2013 and stood at 5.9% in 2019.

As of December 2020, there are nearly 104,000 people enrolled in private health plans through Access Health CT; Obamacare's essential health benefits are covered for all of them, with no lifetime or annual benefit ceilings. And 70% of these enrollees receive premium subsidies, which help make monthly premiums affordable.

Connecticut and the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare was unanimously supported by Connecticut's delegation to the U.S. Congress. Christopher Dodd, a Democrat, and Joseph Lieberman, an independent, both voted to pass the Affordable Care Act in 2010, as did all five Democratic representatives in Connecticut.

Both senators left office, with Dodd replaced by Richard Blumenthal and Lieberman replaced by Chris Murphy. Both Blumenthal and Murphy are Democrats and support the ACA. All five state representatives are still Democrats as of 2020.

Connecticut state lawmakers passed a law authorizing a state-run health insurance market in 2011, and then Governor Dan Malloy signed the bill on July 1, 2011. Malloy was re-elected in 2014. The current governor, Ned Lamont, who is also a Democrat, took office in 2019.

The state health insurance market was called Access Health CT in December 2012. Access Health CT has been one of the most successful markets in the country, with few technical issues and solid registration. Access Health CT's first CEO, Kevin Counihan, was named CEO of Healthcare.gov in August 2014.

Does Connecticut have a high-risk pool?

Prior to the reforms that the ACA brought to the individual health insurance market, coverage was underwritten in nearly every state, including Connecticut. This left people with pre-existing conditions often unable to purchase a plan or eligible only for coverage that excluded pre-existing conditions or applied premiums significantly higher than standard rates.

The Connecticut Health Reinsurance Association (HRA) was created in 1976 to offer people an alternative if they were not eligible to purchase individual health insurance because of their medical history. (Only Minnesota has a high-risk pool as old as Connecticut's.)

Since January 2014, all major new medical policies in the individual market have been guaranteed, thanks to the ACA. This means that there is no longer a need for high-risk pools as in the past. The Connecticut HRA Board of Directors voted to stop enrolling new members in late 2013, but did not immediately cancel coverage for existing members. In the end, the Integrity Registration Authority's plans remained in place throughout 2017, but were finaled at the end of 2017. All remaining members of the Health Registration Authority were expected to move to new plans for 2018.

Medicare coverage and enrollment in Connecticut

Connecticut Medicare enrollment reached 690,397 as of August 2020. About 45% of enrollees had private Medicare Advantage plans, while the other 55% were covered by Original Medicare. Most Medicare beneficiaries in Connecticut are eligible for Medicare because of age, but 13% are under the age of 65 and are eligible due to a long-term disability, SRIA, or end-stage kidney disease.

Read more about Medicare in Connecticut, including state rules for Medigap plans and options for private Medicare advantage and prescription coverage of Part D.

Learn how Medicaid supports one in five Medicare beneficiaries. (Medicaid in Connecticut is HUSKY Health)

Do you have any questions about the annual Medicare open enrollment period? Our guide can help you.

Connecticut Health Insurance Resources

● Access Health CT — A website that Connecticut residents use to enroll in an individual private market or small-group coverage or income-based Medicaid/CHIP coverage.

● Connecticut CHOICES Program - free enrollment advice and assistance for Medicare beneficiaries

● Connecticut Insurance Department — Regulates and licenses health insurance companies, brokers, and agents; answers consumer questions and complaints about entities regulated by the Department.

● Husky Healthcare - health coverage for Connecticut residents on low and modest incomes.

● Medicare Rights Center - A national service that provides assistance and information to Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers.