Insurance coverage up during pandemic
Despite mass layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic, more Connecticut residents were enrolled in health plans administered by private-sector insurers in 2020 than the two previous years, according to a newly updated study by the state Insurance Department.
Nearly 2 million people in Connecticut had insurance administered by private-sector insurers last year, including the state’s own plan offered to government employees. The state hired Anthem last year to take over administration of the plan from the Oxford Health Plans subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare.
That was a 9.2 percent increase from 2019, and the highest level of coverage since 2017 when more than 2.2 million people were on health plans handled by privatesector carriers.
In the early months of the pandemic, many people avoided annual checkups and other nonemergency medical care as they stayed home to avoid contracting the COVID-19 virus. But doctor visits were more the norm this year, insurers say, despite the delta variant causing some people to scale back activities in public spaces.
In picking up administration of Connecticut’s health plan and the Connecticut Partnership Plan the state extends to municipalities, Anthem built on its already
dominant market position in the state. The company added 187,000 members on a net basis for a 20.7 increase, pushing its enrollment above 1 million members including some classified as part of national accounts according to a spokesperson.
In late July, Anthem executives
said the pandemic has also prompted the company to increase its coverage for mental health. He added that it has resonated with employers nationally shopping for new plans, given the stresses some families are experiencing during the pandemic.
Annual enrollment kicks off in November, when companies present the menu of health care options they are offering employees in 2022, along with any changes in cost, coverage and health requirements like checkups.
“That has been the focus over the last several months,” said
Peter Haytaian, an Anthem executive vice president, speaking in July. “We were really being sensitized to these issues around COVID and the need for advocacy, affordability, and focus on issues like behavioral health.”
CVS-owned Aetna was the only other insurer besides Anthem to record a double-digit percentage increase in Connecticut membership, adding nearly 29,000 members for a 10 percent bump in its membership base to 313,000 people.
As the case with Anthem, Aetna saw significant growth in administration of self-insured plans, including a program for small businesses interested in the concept. Aetna entered the year with more than 17,000 smallgroup members enrolled in Connecticut.
Many self-insured plans are able to keep costs in check by not having to comply with state mandates for insurance coverage of varying treatments, on grounds they have a federal exemption under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Last year in Connecticut, 85 of every 100 people with health coverage from the private sector belonged to self-insured plans. That is well out front of the 67 percent rate nationally for selfinsured coverage, as estimated by the Kaiser Family Foundation.