A study finds that low- and moderate-income families in Connecticut were able to afford health insurance during the pandemic because of subsidies from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The percentage of households in the state who could not afford health insurance decreased from 20% to 13% between 2019 and 2022. That's according to Lisa Manzer, the director of the Center for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington, who conducted the study.
“Among those with employer-sponsored insurance there was a slight decrease from 15.6% to 15.3%, very minimum,” she said. “For those with individual marketplace insurance, the decrease was substantial, from 68% to 20%.”
She said the subsidies provided by the ARPA money and an increase in Connecticut’s earned income tax credit were a big reason for the increase in health insurance coverage.
“Really showing that government policies really can make a big impact on affordability,” Manzer said.
But those subsidies are set to expire by 2025.
Manzer was one of several speakers at an informational hearing on health care cost growth hosted by the state’s Office of Healthcare Strategy at the state Legislative Office Building in Hartford on Tuesday.
