Paul Bass Photo
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman in the WNHH studio.
Nancy Wyman wants to make sure not just that you have health insurance, but that you use it.
As chair of the board of the exchange responsible for implementing Obamacare in Connecticut, Wyman reported that 116,019 people in the state signed up for private health insurance under the state exchange during the open enrollment period that just ended. That figure topped the state’s goal as well as last year’s total. (The exchange also enrolled 258,000 residents in Medicaid, 41,000 of them new enrollees, between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, according to this CT News Junkie story.)
Now the exchange is trying to convince people to use that health insurance. The most recent reported survey found that 28 percent of those registered don’t have a primary care physician, and over a third hadn’t made use of the plan.
Which means they are at risk of developing illnesses that will hurt more and cost more to treat down the road.
Wyman said the exchange is working hard to get out the message that “now that you have that insurance, go use it. In the long run, you’ll be healthier.” She also said the exchange has supported the opening of new neighborhood-based health clinics to make it easier for people to see doctors.
Wyman spoke about her health-care roots and the progress of Access Health CT — the state’s Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) insurance exchange — on an episode of WNHH radio’s “Dateline New Haven.” She traced her interest in helping people navigate health care to a volunteer gig in health school that taught her a life lesson.
Challenge From Mom
Wyman volunteered as a candy striper at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., where she grew up. Then she decided to work as an X‑ray technician. She was 16.
“A rule came down: Only guys can be there, because they can move the stretchers,” she recalled, adding: “That didn’t last long.”
She got the job. “They realized that I liked to work at it. I wasn’t down there to fool around and meet the boys. I wanted to get out and work with patients. …
“We had a group of technicians who were very accepting. African-American, Latino… Mostly men. One woman that worked there named Bonnie. They showed me the ropes.”
At 17, she learned how to administer radiation treatments to cancer patients.
She recalled getting to know one “little girl who came in to have treatments done. Every time she came in with her mom, she would have big bows in her hair. Cute as can be.
“The story doesn’t end very well: She passed on. Her mom came in and gave me a bag of bows. And I just broke down.”
Wyman called her mom. Mom issued a challenge: “Look Nance, you made a difference in this girl’s short life. And if you can’t do this, if you can’t give to people like this, then you have to find something else to do.”
Wyman said she decided, “if I can keep giving to people who need help, I”m going to keep giving. You know why? I felt like I can do something, something to help. … If I can help somebody, I don’t feel my own body pain. I feel like I’m doing something that’s right.”
In 1994, Wyman was elected state comptroller. In that job she was dealing with health care on a larger scale, negotiating with insurers on coverage for state employees. She also had to deal with computer challenges.
That experience came in handy when she became lieutenant governor, and then was named chair of Access Health CT to roll out Obamacare. While the program encountered computer glitches and other bumps nationally, it exceeded its targets from the start in Connecticut. And the computer system worked. The Obama administration lured away the director of the organization. Today, Wyman said, she has been called on by states like New Hampshire and Rhode Island to help them figure out how to replicate Connecticut’s record.
With 3.7 percent of Connecticut still uninsured, and with others underutilizing their insurance, she noted, her agency still has plenty of work left to do at home as well.
Click on or download the above sound file to listen to the full “Dateline New Haven” episode with Wyman.
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