You asked how many Connecticut residents do not have health insurance and what this number reduces to after removing people who are (1) illegal immigrants, (2) eligible for but not enrolled in government-sponsored insurance, and (3) in a household with income of $ 50,000 or more (possibly able to afford health insurance but not purchasing it).

The answer to your question depends on the data source used—U. S. Census Bureau or Connecticut Office of Health Care Access (OHCA). The sources' data differ because their study methodologies differ. For example, the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey asks participants for insurance information from the prior calendar year and assigns a coverage status for people who do not respond based upon certain demographics. OHCA's study instead asks participants for their current (“point in time”) insurance information as well as over the last year and does not assign a status to non-responders. Also, neither data source captures the precise categories in which you are interested, as discussed below.

Based on OHCA's data, there are about 87,400 uninsured U. S. citizens who are Connecticut residents who are not eligible for health care benefits. Based on Census Bureau data, there are about 154,000 uninsured U. S. citizens who are Connecticut residents with annual income below $ 50,000. See Table 1 below for details.

Table 1: Connecticut Residents without Health Insurance

¹ Includes only Hispanic non-citizens age 18 or older

The U. S. Census Bureau estimates that Connecticut has 325,000 uninsured residents (U. S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2007). Of the total uninsured, approximately 80,000 are not U. S. citizens. And, another 91,000 have household income of $ 50,000 or more (61,000 of whom have income of $ 75,000 or more). The Census Bureau does not have an estimated number of people eligible for, but not enrolled in, government programs.

Subtracting uninsured non-citizens and people with $ 50,000 or more in annual income from 325,000 brings the uninsured number down to 154,000, based on information available from the Census Bureau.

OHCA estimates that Connecticut has 222,600 uninsured residents (Connecticut Office of Health Care Access, Databook: Connecticut's Health Insurance Coverage, Results of the Office of Health Care Access 2006 Household Survey, January 2007). Of the total uninsured, OHCA estimates that 56,400 are eligible for government-sponsored insurance (e. g. , Medicaid, Medicare, military) but are not enrolled and 32,600 are eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance but have not enrolled. OHCA also estimates that there are 46,200 non-citizen adult Hispanics in Connecticut (2006 Hispanic Adults Survey).

OHCA estimates that at least 66% of the uninsured have family incomes that are less than 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL) (i. e. , $ 60,000 for a family of four), 19% have income over 300% FPL, and 15% of responders did not provide income data. However, OHCA does not have a number of uninsured with income of $ 50,000 or more.

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