Our Favorite Fast Fact

At $3,1311 per person, Connecticut has the highest per capita debt in the US (the average among states is $697 per person) ¹ .

Connecticut spent 10% of state government expenses for debt service in FY 1998 ($1.2 billion). Massachusetts and Minnesota spent only 5.6% and 2.5%, respectively, on debt service (with per capita debt loads of $2436 and $525) ² .

If Connecticut could reduce state debt service to the level of Massachusetts or Minnesota, we would save between $519 or $885 million per year.

On the other hand, Connecticut has about 242,000 residents without health insurance. ³   In 1998, the average cost (nationally) for health care coverage for single workers was $175 per month or $2100 per year. ⁴

At that rate, it would cost $508 million per year to cover all uninsured Connecticut state residents. This could be achieved if Connecticut dropped bonded indebtedness to the level of Minnesota (24th highest among states per capita).

Alternatively, full coverage could be achieved by dropping our bonded indebtedness only to the level of Massachusetts (third highest per capita in the country) while maximizing federal reimbursements under Medicaid.

By reducing Connecticut's bond debt to a level similar to other states, enough savings could be generated to provide health care coverage to all Connecticut residents who now lack it.

Footnotes

1. Moody's Investors Service, 1999
2. Office of the State Comptroller
3. Office of Health Care Access, 1999
4. Gabel J.R. "Job-based Health Insurance, 1977-1998: The Accidental System under Scrutiny", Health Affairs 18 (6): 62-74, November/December 1999.