Modeling a Public Option for Connecticut

The project will provide an in-depth data and actuarial analysis of various public plan designs on the individual market, small-group market, and the state employee health plan in Connecticut. After assessing the landscape of current insurance coverage in the state, stratified by race/ethnicity and income, the project will examine two or three policy designs for the individual market and will provide estimates of the impact on costs and enrollment. It also will propose options for and provide estimates of benefit design, actuarial values, and premium rates for a public option that expands coverage through the existing state employee health plan to small and nonprofit employers. RAND will use their established microsimulation model, COMPARE, to model policy options with Connecticut’s all-payer claims database and the American Community Service Public Use Microdata Sample to supplement race, ethnicity, and immigration status data in order to understand the impact on equity in coverage. The RAND team also will contract with Segal and Wakely to provide actuarial analyses of plan designs.