Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Connecticut program

Free health insurance for your child (HUSKY A)

Connecticut's free Medicaid health insurance for children under 19, called HUSKY A.

What it is

Connecticut's free Medicaid health insurance for children under 19, called HUSKY A.

HUSKY A covers treatment when your child meets the income rules. A recent drop in pay can change the answer. DSS decides who belongs in your child’s household and which income counts.

Eligibility rules
  • Your child must live in Connecticut and be under 19. The same income column covers every age under 19.
  • The March 1, 2026 monthly limits are $3,625 for two people, $4,577 for three, $5,528 for four, $6,479 for five and $7,431 for six.
  • The tax household can differ from everyone living at your address. DSS makes the final household and income decision.
If your child already has insurance
  • Your child can have HUSKY A alongside work insurance. The work plan is billed first.
  • For covered care during eligibility, a Medicaid-enrolled hospital or clinician generally cannot bill you the work plan’s deductible, copay or coinsurance. Required treatment approvals still matter. This protection can apply even when HUSKY pays nothing extra.
  • Ask the hospital counselor to check both insurance records and any bill you receive. A noncovered service or care outside eligibility needs a separate review.
The practical tradeoff
  • Two plans mean two cards and more billing details to keep straight. The hospital can compare coverage of your child’s cancer team, medicines and planned care.
What you get
  • No premium or copays for your child’s covered care.
  • Hospital stays, chemotherapy, medicines, dental and vision care.
  • Rides to appointments and nursing at home when the separate requirements are met.
  • Eligible bills from up to three earlier months can be covered through 2026.
What the help covers
  • HUSKY includes hospital and clinic treatment, prescriptions and lab care. Home nursing requires a separate review of medical needs.
  • For children under 21, Medicaid’s EPSDT rule covers medically necessary care within federal Medicaid benefit categories. It does not promise every requested service.
  • Your work plan is billed first. For covered care from a clinic enrolled with HUSKY, the clinic cannot bill you the deductible, copay or coinsurance the work plan left, even when HUSKY pays nothing extra. A clinic's own billing mistake does not become your bill; ask billing to check any unexpected charge before paying.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the hospital financial counselor to help with an Access Health CT application, online or by phone.
  2. Have your child’s ID, address, current income, insurance cards and earlier hospital bills ready.
  3. Ask the counselor to check your oncology team, hospital and pharmacy against the coverage.

Access Health CT takes applications; DSS decides eligibility. 1-855-805-4325 · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • Earlier eligible bills can reach back three months before the application month through 2026. For applications from January 1, 2027, the child’s look-back becomes two months.
  • Connecticut’s ordinary decision standard is 45 days, or 60 days when disability must be decided. Ask the hospital counselor whether a qualified hospital can start temporary HUSKY coverage. That temporary period starts with the hospital’s decision. Without a full application by the end of the following month, it ends then; a timely full application keeps it open until the state decides.
  • Children under 19 generally keep HUSKY Medicaid or CHIP for 12 months after approval, even if income rises. Permitted earlier endings include reaching 19, moving out of state, voluntary withdrawal, death, or an erroneous decision involving agency error or fraud. DSS confirms whether any longer period applies to your child and explains renewal notices.
Good to know

Your work insurance stays in place while the state decides. It is billed first, and for covered care the clinic generally cannot bill you the rest, whether HUSKY pays anything or not. Give both cards to every clinic and pharmacy.

Other details
  • HUSKY B has a higher income ceiling for an uninsured child. Katie Beckett uses a separate medical test and leaves parents’ income out.
  • Keeping two plans can mean another insurance card and billing process. Coverage choices depend on which plans cover the child’s treatment team.

Federal background: Medicaid · Medicaid as second insurance · Needed care for children (EPSDT).

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could HUSKY A reduce our treatment bills, and how would it work with any insurance we already have? What would the tradeoffs be, and would you help us apply if it fits?”

Why I’m asking: I want treatment covered without losing access to our child’s cancer team.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

File through Access Health CT, report this month's income for everyone in the tax household, and list the months that already have bills.

Your social worker

The oncology social worker or the hospital's financial counsellor sits with you to file and chases the decision.

The care team

Nothing for ordinary HUSKY A. Medical records matter only for the Katie Beckett route.

Who decides
DSS decides eligibility; Access Health CT takes the application. HUSKY medical services use an administrative services organization.
Ask your social worker
“Could you help us with HUSKY A and earlier eligible bills, and check that our oncology team is enrolled?”

How to apply

First step: Apply at accesshealthct.com or call 1-855-805-4325 this week, and ask the hospital's financial counsellor to sit with you while you do it.

  1. Apply through Access Health CT this week, by phone if that is faster.
  2. Name every month with a hospital bill so the look-back covers the admission.
  3. Ask the hospital counselor to confirm provider enrollment, coverage dates and any required authorization.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply through Access Health CT at accesshealthct.com or call 1-855-805-4325. Ask the hospital's financial counsellor to help you file the same day.

What to gather

  • Child's birth certificate or ID and Social Security number
  • Connecticut address
  • This month's income for each adult in the tax household
  • Insurance cards, if you have any
  • Hospital bills from the three months before you apply

How long: Ordinary applications have a 45-day decision standard; 60 days when disability must be decided. Coverage dates and any retroactive eligibility appear in the DSS notice.

What a yes looks like

A notice naming the HUSKY category and coverage dates. The hospital counselor confirms that the oncology providers are enrolled and any required authorization is in place.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Read why. If it is income, ask in the same breath about HUSKY B and about the Katie Beckett waiver, which leaves parents' income out, and appeal by the date on the notice.

Watch out

  • Connecticut counts the tax household and this month's income, not last year's return.
  • HUSKY can coexist with work insurance. The work plan pays first. For covered, authorized care during eligibility, an enrolled Medicaid provider generally cannot bill private cost sharing even when HUSKY pays nothing extra. Noncovered services and advance agreements need separate review.
  • One column covers every age under 19 here, so a younger child does not get a higher limit.

Dates that change this

2026-03-01: The income limits are Connecticut's March 1, 2026 HUSKY chart. DSS updates them every year on March 1; the 2027 cells are not published yet.

2027-01-01: Coverage can reach back three months before the month you apply now. For applications made on or after January 1, 2027 that becomes two months.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Free full coverage with no premium and no child copays. The limit is $5,528 a month for four people, $4,577 for three and $6,479 for five.

  • $5,528/month — Household of 4, published monthly limit (201%)
  • $4,577/month — Household of 3, published monthly limit (201%)
  • $6,479/month — Household of 5, published monthly limit (201%)
  • $3,625/month — Household of 2, published monthly limit (201%)
  • $7,431/month — Household of 6, published monthly limit (201%)

Covers: Hospital and clinic care · Chemotherapy and prescriptions · Medically necessary care for children under 21 within federal Medicaid benefit categories (EPSDT), not every requested service · Home nursing and aide hours when the plan approves them · Rides to appointments · Dental and vision

What it costs the family: No premium. No copays for a child.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
through age 18
Age max exclusive
19
Income
MAGI budget group at 201% of the poverty line, one published column for all ages under 19; separate base and five-point columns were searched for and NOT FOUND
Insurance status condition
HUSKY can coexist with work insurance. The work plan pays first. For covered, authorized care during eligibility, an enrolled Medicaid provider generally cannot bill private cost sharing even when HUSKY pays nothing extra. Noncovered services and advance agreements need separate review.
Residency
Connecticut
Continuous eligibility
Children under 19 generally keep HUSKY Medicaid or CHIP for 12 months after approval, even if income rises. Permitted earlier endings include reaching 19, moving out of state, voluntary withdrawal, death, or an erroneous decision involving agency error or fraud. DSS confirms whether any longer period applies to your child and explains renewal notices.
Retroactive months
3 now; 2 for applications on or after 2027-01-01
Processing standard
Ordinary applications have a 45-day decision standard; 60 days when disability must be decided.

Decisions this site cannot make: Access Health CT / DSS income determination (MAGI)

Expect friction on: Confirming that the hospital and oncology group are enrolled in Connecticut Medicaid

The trap: DSS counts the tax household and current monthly income. HUSKY can coexist with work insurance. The work plan pays first. For covered, authorized care during eligibility, an enrolled Medicaid provider generally cannot bill private cost sharing even when HUSKY pays nothing extra. Noncovered services and advance agreements need separate review.

Where I read this

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