More than 100,000 people in Connecticut will soon be paying a lot less for health insurance.
The state will receive $85 million dollars from the American Rescue Plan to help lower monthly premiums.
“My family currently pays over $1,300 a month for health insurance,” said Rod Yearwood, of West Hartford.
Yearwood says that amount will now be around $20 per month with the additional subsidies.
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“We could also save money for retirement. We could also save money in terms of paying off additional bills and also help our daughters with their college education,” Yearwood said.
Rep. John Larson says the goal of the American Rescue Plan was to put vaccines in people's arms and money in people's pockets.
“Having health is always important and to reduce premiums to people who now are going to be able to spend that money, as Mr. Yearwood said, for the kids he’s trying to help get through college,” Larson said.
Access Health CT will open up a special enrollment period May 1 for anyone who wants to purchase health insurance.
“Once the American Rescue Plan is implemented, it will go to over 50% of our customers will pay zero premium or near zero premium,” Access Health CT CEO James Michel said.
That means about 50,000 people won’t be making any monthly premium payments to have health insurance.
Michel says that includes about 10,000 customers who currently don’t receive a subsidy because their income is above 400% of the federal poverty level.
“Some of the families will save over $3,000 a month,” Michel said.
It will only last for two years and House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora says it will create future problems.
“In my opinion, over the next two years, health care is being over-subsidized for residents and it’s going to create a cliff,” Candelora said. “And it’s going to create a problem two years from now -- not only are they enjoying health insurance with no premiums and no out-of-pocket costs -- on the flip side of it that goes away two years from now and so we have to be careful of a cliff that’s being created.”
