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Connecticut, like other states, launched an online health exchange -- Access Health CT -- where residents can shop for and purchase health insurance. There could be new opportunities for the unemployed or uninsured to receive health insurance. Here, we gather our coverage of changes under the new federal law.

State Says Obamacare Has Cut Uninsured Rate By Half

Jeff Cohen
/
WNPR

More than half of the state residents who signed up for new insurance under the Affordable Care Act didn't have insurance beforehand. That's according to new data released Wednesday by Access Health CT -- the state's health insurance marketplace. 

It says that of the nearly 257,000 people who signed up for Obamacare insurance, 53 percent were uninsured when they enrolled. And Kevin Counihan, who runs the agency, said that means the state has cut in half the number of people without insurance.

"We have made significant, significant strides to meet our mission and our goal and we just couldn't be happier about it," he said.  "So this is a big, big day for us."

The new data is the result of polling. Access Health CT says it reached out to over 2,500 people who enrolled in Obamacare this year and asked them whether they had insurance before. Half of them apparently didn't, and they do now. According to Counihan, more than 12 percent of the state's population was without insurance a few years ago. Before the implementation of Obamacare, that number was around 8 percent. Now, he said four percent of the state's population is uninsured.

That's good news for people like Gov. Dannel Malloy who've supported the law and faced claims that the health care law wasn't really bringing more insurance to more people.

"I am extremely proud that we have gone from 12.7 percent of our population being uninsured down to four or less," Malloy told reporters.  "And I'm more than happy to run on that issue. I didn't come here for a political statement. But I'm more than happy to have people understand that we've done a better job at this than any other state in the nation."

Open enrollment for insurance in 2015 is just a few months away.

Jeff Cohen started in newspapers in 2001 and joined Connecticut Public in 2010, where he worked as a reporter and fill-in host. In 2017, he was named news director. Then, in 2022, he became a senior enterprise reporter.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.