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Insurance Coverage Gains May Erode
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Business New Haven
3/18/2002
By: Susan Cornell
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According to The Comptroller's Report: Connecticut's Economic Health presented last month by State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, the state has experienced a decline in recent years in the percentage of residents lacking health insurance coverage, due mainly to low levels of unemployment and a strong state economy.
However, the report adds, “Health policy analysts are predicting a rise in the uninsured population in the near term, based primarily on the convergence of two trends: The first is the weakening of the economy, both on the state and national levels. The current recession has produced a significant increase in the jobless rate. Studies of past recessions have shown that the loss of a job often means losing health coverage.”
The second trend is rising health care costs. As health benefits become more expensive, employers are shifting a greater proportion of the cost onto employees. Some may stop offering coverage completely.
“Despite the recent decline in Connecticut's uninsured population, many residents still lack health coverage and the vast majority are from working families,” the report concludes. “In addition, the downturn in the economy and rising health costs will likely erode health coverage levels in the near future.”
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