Health Equity

Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut

2013 - $50,000

Health philanthropy in Connecticut has a strong interest in the success of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to reform the health care landscape. Access Health CT (AHCT), the insurance marketplace, will be the main entry point into public (eg, Medicaid) or private insurance. AHCT has developed a complex outreach plan designed to reach as many residents as possible to enroll them in health insurance.

Many of Connecticut’s uninsured residents, live in hard-to-reach, underserved communities, and an estimated 65 % of them are people of color. This population’s enrollment and participation is critical to the success of health reform in the state.

Evaluation of AHCT’s efforts will surface key learnings that will inform improvements on an ongoing basis. While AHCT will conduct its own research, there is a need for an objective look at how the process is unfolding.

With this grant, the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut will conduct extensive research into the success of AHCT enrollment efforts as perceived by the consumers trying to enroll. The research should identify factors that facilitate or impede enrollment, and to inform policy adjustments that will boost enrollment and the enrollment experience overall. Research results will be shared to develop an advocacy and policy agenda for necessary federal legislative or regulatory change, and will represent the first activity to formalize a CT Health Reform Collaborative.

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