Studies have shown that people who have a relationship with a trusted primary care provider are more likely to have higher satisfaction with the healthcare system and are less likely to need care at an emergency room or through an acute hospital admission.
Simply put: when people have what they need to go for their annual checkup with a doctor they trust, our communities become healthier and we spend less on healthcare -– two priorities for us in Connecticut.
How do we help people to start building a relationship with a trusted primary care provider? One of the first ways is connecting people who are uninsured or underinsured with health coverage that offers access to high-quality, affordable healthcare.
In Connecticut, 94% of the people across the state are insured. And now, a new program called Covered Connecticut is positioned to help us close that gap. My company, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is proud to offer a participating plan in this program and given how I feel about the importance of primary care, I wanted to take this opportunity to encourage my neighbors across Connecticut to see if they may be eligible for coverage through this new program.
Covered Connecticut is a new health program from the State of Connecticut that offers free coverage to eligible families. The enrollment period for the program will open by July 1, 2022. To find out if you’re eligible, visit accesshealthct.com, contact your broker, or call Access Health CT at 855-805-4325, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you qualify, the State of Connecticut will pay your part of the monthly premium for a health plan. They will also pay all your cost-sharing amounts (deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and maximum out-of-pocket costs). The Anthem plan you can choose is the Silver PPO Standard Pathway health plan, which gives you access to a large network of doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals, as well as benefits such as virtual primary care through our SydneySM Health app.
As a health plan, Covered Connecticut offers us the opportunity to help people across Connecticut, who previously may have struggled with access to healthcare, get the preventative care that they need. Programs centered around preventative care with oversight from engaged primary care physicians have significant potential to improve health outcomes for individuals, while also offering an opportunity to better manage healthcare costs.
Our parent company recently conducted a study to explore Americans’ perceptions about what influences health. In the study, people across Connecticut told us that the top three drivers negatively impacting their health are financial stability, mental health, and affordable housing. The study also found that people in Connecticut reported that free resources to monitor overall health would be the top program that could help. Covered Connecticut is an example of one of those resources, and I hope that our efforts to create awareness around this program will translate to more people across the state get connected to resources that empower them to lead healthier lives.
I encourage you to find out if you’re eligible by visiting accesshealthct.com, contacting a broker for free, or calling Access Health CT at 855-805-4325, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. And, once you’re enrolled, get that checkup on the calendar. We look forward to serving you!
Dr. Michael Jefferson is Managing Medical Director for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut.