A Connecticut survey found that a mere one-third of customers who purchased private health plans through the state's health insurance exchange use their coverage, according to Hartford Courant.
Here are five notes:
1. Approximately 100,000 people purchased private health plans through the state's health insurance exchange this year.
2. Of those customers, one in three have not used their coverage and more than one in four do not have a primary care physician. These figures represent an increase from last year with 23 percent of members claiming they did not have a primary care physician in 2014.
3. State officials, insurance companies and advocacy groups have prioritized getting people who have coverage under the federal health law to utilize this coverage. Many customers with deductibles are unaware they could obtain certain preventive services without charge.
4. The survey also revealed reasons why many people dropped their coverage. Nineteen percent of former customers claimed they stopped coverage because they could not afford it.
5. Thirty-three percent of former customers dropped coverage for reasons out of the exchange's control.
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