HARTFORD Conn. Restaurant employees are expected to be among the participants in a new health insurance program that Connecticut is launching this week in hopes of extending coverage to all residents. Gov. M. Jodi Rell hailed it as the first in the nation to provide coverage for the uninsured without requiring income limits, employer mandates or individual coverage requirements.
The Charter Oak Health Plan is a public-private partnership that splits responsibility between individuals and the government, said Rell, who had first proposed the program in 2006. Individual monthly premiums for the plan range from $75 to $259, the governor’s office indicated. Coverage is set to begin as early as Aug. 1.
Residents can enroll only if they have been without health insurance for six months, though exceptions could be granted if the applicant suffered a job loss, financial hardship or loss of coverage under another government program geared toward children.
“For the first time, Connecticut residents who are not able to get health insurance through their jobs will have access to decent, affordable coverage,” Rell, a Republican, said in a statement. “In the absence of a national health policy, Connecticut is stepping up in a big way to cover [its] uninsured.”
To form the plan, the state contracted with three state-based private insurers: Aetna Better Health, AmeriChoice of Connecticut and Community Health Network of Connecticut.
According to published reports, government health officials say some 15,000 to 17,000 people are expected to sign up for inclusion in the plan during its first year in operation.
Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine also have attempted to extend coverage to all residents through statewide programs.
