Connecticut Launches Health Plan For Uninsured
01 07 08 - 14:50
By ANN MARIE SOMMA | Courant Staff Writer
ROCKY HILL — - Andrea Bryant, a 57-year old waitress from Manchester, became the first person in the state to apply for Connecticut's new, affordable health care plan.
Bryant filled out an application Monday morning for coverage under the Charter Oak Health Plan at the Town Line Diner, where state officials had gathered to launch the plan. It is open to those who don't qualify for existing state programs and aren't insured through an employer. Individual premiums will range from $75 a month to as high as $259 a month.
"I know I can afford this, and I'll be able to go to a doctor now," said Bryant, who has been without health insurance since her husband died two years ago.
Charter Oak enrollments open today, and the state expects to serve a projected 19,200 adults during the first year, rising to 47,200 in its third year. The state is contracting with three private insurers — Aetna Better Health, AmeriChoice of Connecticut and Community Health Network of Connecticut — to coordinate benefits and medical providers.
Enrollees can expect to begin getting coverage as early as Aug. 1.
When Gov. Jodi M. Rell presented her $11 million state-subsidized Charter Oak plan in December 2006, lawmakers and advocates criticized it, saying it did not offer coverage for mental and chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and AIDS.
Child advocates also criticized Rell's plan to merge Charter Oak with the HUSKY health plan for 320,000 low-income children and adults who are eligible for Medicaid, saying the plan could force thousands of recipients to find new doctors for the second time in less than a year.
On Monday, Rell chose the Town Line Diner as the launch site for the plan because it exemplifies small businesses in Connecticut that can't afford to offer their workers health care, said David Dearborn, a spokesman for the Department of Social Services, the state agency that will administer the plan.
"This will make a tremendous difference in a lot of people's lives. For the first time, they will have access to affordable health care," Dearborn said.
With annual deductibles ranging from $150 to $900, Charter Oak is perfect for Bryant, who earns less than $15,000 a year waiting tables at the Wethersfield Diner on the Silas Deane Highway.
Bryant's journey to the Charter Oak sign-up sheet began two years ago, when she poured state officials a cup of coffee in her diner. She said she went into debt when she caught pneumonia and sought medical care without health insurance.
Dearborn and DSS Commissioner Michael Starkowski, regulars at the diner, asked her what kind of health plan she was on.
"I asked them, 'Why? Are you insurance agents?'" Bryant recalled. "They said no, "We work for the state government and we are working on a health care plan.'"
Charter Oak is open to adults 19 through 65 years old, as well as those who are paying high premiums through private insurance, such as COBRA. There is a six-month wait to switch over to Charter Oak, Dearborn said.
Marianna Luari, the owner of Town Line Diner, said she was glad to host the launch of Rell's Charter Oak Plan in her diner.
Luari said she bought the diner with her husband two years ago and can't afford to offer her employees health insurance.
"I was so excited when I heard this," Luari said. "Health insurance is a big thing, especially for people with small incomes."
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