How Will Federal Health Care Reform Impact Connecticut?

The RAND Corporation recently issued a series of reports analyzing the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) on five states: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Montana, and Texas. Analysts used a “RAND COMPARE” model to estimate the impact of the PPACA on coverage and health care spending in Connecticut in 2016, when the law’s coverage expansion provisions will be fully implemented. The report found that:

• The proportion of Connecticut residents with health insurance will increase from 89% to 95%;
• While there will only be a slight change in the total number of employees covered through employer-sponsored insurance, roughly 40,000 employees will be covered through the health insurance exchange;
• By 2016, 10% of the insured population under age 65 will have health insurance coverage through the exchange;
• Medicaid enrollment will increase by 31%; and
• While Medicaid spending will increase, total state spending on health care will decrease 10% during 2011-2020 due mostly to federal subsidies for residents who would have been covered under Connecticut’s State Administered General Assistance Program.

 The study was funded in part by the Council of State Governments 21st Century Foundation.