Percentage of CT Residents with Health Insurance Coverage Increased

Three years of concern about health amidst a pandemic has underscored the importance of health insurance coverage across the population, including in Connecticut. Recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey provides a look at how health insurance coverage among Connecticut residents changed between the 2012-2016 official estimates and the latest data, reflecting 2017-2021.

Statewide in Connecticut, the data reflects an increasing percentage of residents with health insurance coverage, but even though the numbers are trending in the right direction in most communities, disparities remain between communities across the state, according to the data.

An analysis by the Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData) of recently released 2017-2021 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, alongside the 2012-2016 ACS 5-year estimates, in addition to the American Community Survey 1-year estimates for state-level trends, points out the differences and provides insight into the rate of change – either upward or downward – in the state’s cities and towns.

Connecticut exceeds the national average, according to the 2021 ACS 1-year estimates, with 94.8% of Connecticut residents having health insurance coverage, compared to only 84.5% in the United States.

The percentage of Connecticut residents with health insurance has been trending upward since 2010. In 2010, 90.9% of residents had health insurance. In 2021, the percentage increased to 94.8%. It has not been a steady increase, with small increases and decreases along the way. Comparing ACS 5-year data, Connecticut’s rate of residents with health insurance improved significantly by 1.9 percentage points, from 92.9% in 2012-2016 to 94.8% in the 2017-2021 ACS.

The federal Affordable Care Act was signed in 2010 (on March 23) and its changes to healthcare law were implemented through 2014. Between 2013 and 2016, health insurance coverage increased steadily from 90.6% of Connecticut residents covered in 2013 to 95.1% in 2016. Over the following four years, the rate crept down by one percentage point to 94.1% in 2019. The increase from 94.1% in 2019 to 94.8% in 2021 reflects a statistically significant improvement.

Fifty-seven towns in Connecticut had statistically significant improvements as well, and 43 communities had rates of insured residents increase by more than the state’s overall 1.9 percentage points. Canterbury, Willington, and Sterling each increased their coverage rates by seven percentage points or more. Norfolk’s rate of residents with health insurance also increased from 92.3% in the 2016 ACS 5-year estimates to 99.0% in the 2021 ACS 5-year estimates.

Conversely, 18 municipalities saw their rate of insured residents decrease by one percentage point or more, although the decrease was not statistically significant in any community.

Health Insurance Coverage Rates in Connecticut’s Cities

In addition to Bridgeport’s 4.2 percentage point increase in residents with health insurance coverage, Connecticut’s other largest cities also experience statistically significant increases. Stamford (3.1), New Haven (3.8), Hartford (3.1), and Waterbury (3.5) each had insurance rates increase by more than three percentage points and now have rates of 90.0% or more.

Looking at the variation in levels of health insurance coverage in Connecticut communities, there continues to be variation, with some of the state’s largest cities having the lowest rates of health insurance coverage.

Danbury (86.1%), Norwalk (86.3%), and Bridgeport (86.7%) had the lowest rates of health insurance coverage in the state. Although these communities also had the lowest rates of coverage according to the 2016 ACS 5-year estimates, each experienced statistically significant improvements in this time frame: Norwalk increased by 5 percentage points, Bridgeport by 4.2, and Danbury by 3.2.

Among other major cities, Hartford’s health insurance coverage rate increased from 87.5% to 90.6%, New Haven’s from 88.4% to 92.2%, Waterbury’s from 88.7% to 92.2%, and Stamford’s from 86.9% to 90.0%.

Highest Insurance Rates in Connecticut Communities

According to the data, the highest rates of health insurance coverage according to the 2021 ACS 5-year estimates were in Bethlehem (99.5%), Morris (99.3%), Coventry (99.2%), and South Windsor (99.2%). These towns saw statistically significant improvements in health insurance rates in the 2021 ACS 5-year estimates, compared to the 2016 ACS 5-year.

Town-level 2012-2016 and 2017-2021 ACS data for all of Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns can be seen on the CT Data Collaborative website at ctdata.org. Additional ACS data can be explored using the site’s interactive tool, which covers a variety of topics, including economic, demographic, education, language, and many other topics, disaggregated by town along with comparisons to previous 5-year periods.

The Connecticut Data Collaborative empowers an ecosystem of data users by democratizing access to public data and building data literacy skills. CTData strives to promote and engage data users in implementing equitable data practices across the state. More than 200 data sets are now accessible on the CTData website, including many subject areas and policy categories.

Among its areas of responsibility, CTData has been designated as the lead organization for the State of Connecticut in the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center Program. CTData also works with nonprofit organizations to develop Data Strategic Plans© to map out their use of data to further organizational missions. CTData offices are located on Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford; more information and datasets are available on the website at www.ctdata.org.