This brief summarizes two sets of uninsured estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The latest data from the US Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) indicate that in 2009, an estimated 62,000 Connecticut children under 18 (7.7%) were uninsured for the entire year. The 2-year average uninsured rates for all persons under 65 and for children in Connecticut in 2008-09 were essentially unchanged from recent previous years. An estimated 33,000 Connecticut children under 19 who lived in families with income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($43,512 for a two-parent family with 2 children in 2009) were uninsured. Nearly all uninsured children in Connecticut are eligible for coverage in the HUSKY Program.
For the second consecutive year, the US Census Bureau has included a question on insurance status in its annual American Community Survey (ACS). The question asks whether the person is currently covered by any type of insurance, so the results are not directly comparable to data from the CPS which asks about insurance status for the entire previous year. According to the ACS, an estimated 305,000 people (8.8%) were uninsured in Connecticut in 2009, including about 30,433 children (3.8%). Among cities, the uninsured rates for New Britain children (3.0%) and Waterbury children (3.5%) were lower than the statewide rate, but not statistically different than the rates for other cities with population over 65,000 people.
