Massachusetts program
State fund for a child’s catastrophic illness
A Massachusetts fund for a child’s uncovered medical and related costs [Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund].
What it is
A Massachusetts fund for a child’s uncovered medical and related costs [Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund].
Large uncovered costs can strain a family even when income is above other benefit limits. This fund’s law names pediatric cancer and uses an expense test. An award depends on the fund’s operating requirements and available funding.
Eligibility rules
- The statute covers Massachusetts children age 21 or younger. A parent or guardian applies.
- Uncovered eligible expenses must exceed 10% of the first $100,000 of annual family income, plus 15% of income above $100,000.
- Pediatric cancer is named in the definition of catastrophic illness.
What you get
- Possible help toward eligible medical and related costs left unpaid by other sources.
What the help covers
- The legal expense test is distinct from the amount of any award. Receipts establish the costs being requested.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the hospital social worker for the current fund application and whether it is accepting claims.
- Have receipts for uncovered medical costs, treatment travel and lodging, and yearly family income ready.
- Ask which costs can be included, what funding is available and how the fund calculates help before relying on a payment.
The Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund · Official page ↗
After you ask
- The fund reviews the application and supporting expense information. A written decision can clarify which costs were included.
- The social worker can confirm whether applications are open, which expense dates and costs qualify, and what funding or award limits apply. The fund can supply its current form, contact, expected timetable and decision-review procedure before you rely on payment.
Good to know
There is no income limit. The test is whether uncovered costs are a big share of income: more than 10% of the first $100,000 you earn in a year, plus 15% of anything above that.
Other details
- Travel and lodging receipts are useful to bring for review, but the fund must confirm which related expenses qualify.
Official sources
“Could the catastrophic-illness fund help with costs other programs leave to us? What expenses and limits apply, and could you help us put together a claim if funding is available?”
Why I’m asking: I want to know whether our uncovered costs meet this separate expense-based test.
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
Keep the receipts and apply through a parent or guardian.
Your social worker
The hospital social worker knows the current form and what evidence it needs.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The state fund.
- Ask your social worker
- “Can you help us apply to the state fund for children with catastrophic illness? I have been keeping receipts for everything our insurance has not paid.”
How to apply
First step: Start a folder of every uncovered cost now, and ask the hospital social worker for the current application.
- Start a folder of receipts and uncovered bills from week one.
- Ask the hospital social worker for the current application and what it needs.
- Do not wait for the expenses to be paid off before asking.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the hospital social worker for the current application and keep every receipt from the start of treatment.
What to gather
- Receipts for uncovered medical and related costs
- Travel and lodging costs for treatment
- The family’s yearly income
How long: Processing time was not published. Ask when you file.
What a yes looks like
A payment toward the costs you have carried.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask what the fund counted and whether costs since the application can be added.
Watch out
- The $100,000 in the law is part of the expense test, not an income limit. Do not rule yourself out.
- The claim is built from receipts, so start the folder in week one.
- The fund’s operating rules, caps and timing were not published, so nobody can promise an amount or a date.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Help with uncovered medical and related expenses above 10% of the first $100,000 of yearly family income plus 15% of income above that. Pediatric cancer is named in the statute.
- $10 — Share of the first $100,000 of yearly family income the expenses must pass
- $15 — Share of yearly family income above $100,000 the expenses must pass
- $100,000/year — Income breakpoint in the expense test, not an income limit
- $21 — Upper age of a child under the statute
Covers: Help toward uncovered medical and related expenses
Legal protection: Pediatric cancer is named in the definition of catastrophic illness · There is no income ceiling: the test is the share of income the expenses reach
What it costs the family: None to apply.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Age
- 21 or under
- Residency
- a child who is a resident of Massachusetts, applying through a parent or guardian
- Expenses
- uncovered medical and related expenses above 10% of the first $100,000 of yearly family income plus 15% of income above that
- Note
- operating rules, caps, funding availability and processing time were not published in this research
The trap: The $100,000 in the statute is a step in the expense formula, not an income limit. Families read it as a cut-off and never apply.
Where I read this
- M.G.L. c. 111K §§ 1, 7 — Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund — Massachusetts General Court, read September 10, 2026