Census data from the Current Population Survey reveal that there was a decline in the number of working-age Connecticut residents with health insurance over recent years. Based on a comparison of two-year average rates, there was a statistically significant increase in the percentage of people under age 65 who were without health insurance for the entire year, rising from 10.7% in 2006-2007 to 12.6% in 2008-2009.
The Census data indicate that an estimated 13.7% (413,000) of all Connecticut residents under age 65 in 2009 were without health insurance for the entire previous year. Among Connecticut children under age 18, 7.7% (62,000) lacked insurance for the entire year. There was no statistically significant change in the percentage of Connecticut children who were uninsured in Connecticut over recent years.
There was also a statistically significant decline in the percentage of people under age 65 in Connecticut who had employer-sponsored health coverage over this decade, dropping from 78.2% in 1999-2000 to 70.7% in 2008-2009. There was a similar significant decrease in children who were covered by employer-sponsored insurance – from 77.7% in 1999-2000 to 69.9% in 2008-2009.
Connecticut’s efforts to enroll more families in the HUSKY health insurance program probably helped to hold down the number of uninsured residents.
