Charter Oak Health Plan Begins Receiving Applications

The Charter Oak Plan, which intends to provide affordable health insurance for adults who are neither eligible for HUSKY nor Medicaid and Medicare, received its first applications on June 30. Ellen Andrews at the CT Health Notes blog succinctly summarizes the key points of the plan:

Charter Oak covers hospital care, doctor or clinic visits, X rays and lab tests, prescriptions, and some mental health and substance abuse treatment. There is no pre-existing condition exclusion and subsidies in premiums and deductibles based on income.

While Charter Oak is an important new option for CT’s uninsured, it is not right for everyone. As with all insurance, consumers need to do their homework. Charter Oak may not be right for consumers who:

  • Have insurance now – there are exceptions, but you may not be eligible if you’ve had insurance in the last six months
  • Don't have money in the bank available for health costs -- $900 deductibles plus 10% of hospitals stays can get very expensive
  • Have high prescription needs – prescriptions are limited to $7,500/year
  • Need to see a specific doctor – the provider panel is likely to be very limited
  • Need dental or vision care – they are not covered
  • Need mental health or substance abuse treatment – coverage is limited

Charter Oak is a long way from health care that is universal, continuous, affordable, sustainable, and high quality--criteria and values that we share with the healthcare4every1 campaign, which identified them--but Genghis Conn at CT Local Politics is right that it is something. The Charter Oak plan may be adequate for a small slice of the adult population in Connecticut, but it fails to address the needs of under-insured people, and it is still an insurance-based solution to an insurance-based problem.

Relevant links: