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

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Massachusetts program

Buy a plan after a coverage loss (Health Connector)

Massachusetts’ health insurance marketplace [Health Connector], with extra help through ConnectorCare for eligible households.

What it is

Massachusetts’ health insurance marketplace [Health Connector], with extra help through ConnectorCare for eligible households.

When job insurance or MassHealth ends, the Health Connector is another coverage door. It screens for MassHealth and marketplace help through one application. The cost and treatment network matter as much as the enrollment window.

Eligibility rules
  • A qualifying job-plan loss generally allows selection 60 days before or after the loss. Medicaid or CHIP loss allows 90 days afterward, as well as advance selection. The Connector confirms your event, last selection date, payment deadline and coverage start.
  • For plan year 2026, ConnectorCare uses the 2025 poverty guidelines. Its applicable income range is generally 100%–400% of poverty, subject to the other coverage and subsidy rules.
  • ConnectorCare help runs up to 400% of poverty: about $8,883 a month for three people, $10,717 for four, or $12,550 for five in 2026, judged on the year's expected income.
What you get
  • ConnectorCare plans have no deductible and low or no monthly premium for eligible households.
  • A new health plan after an eligible loss of coverage.
What the help covers
  • ConnectorCare includes help with premiums and cost sharing. The plan comparison gives your actual premium and copays.
  • Income alone does not establish financial help. The Connector also checks immigration and tax-filing rules, other coverage, and any affordable qualifying employer offer, even if you declined that offer.
  • The lowest 2026 monthly premiums per person are $0 for Plan Type 2A, $53 for 2B, $103 for 3A, $152 for 3B and $235 for 3C. Actual plan and location prices can differ.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask a Health Connector assister to compare plans for your family.
  2. Have the coverage-ending letter, its date, estimated yearly household income, and your treatment team’s names ready.
  3. Ask the hospital to check the exact plan’s oncology and pharmacy coverage before you choose.

Massachusetts Health Connector: 1-877-623-6765 · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • Coverage usually starts the month after a plan is chosen. The assister can confirm the actual start date before any existing coverage ends.
  • If a loss window has closed, another qualifying event or open enrollment may be needed. MassHealth remains a separate current-income review.
Good to know

Marketplace help uses yearly income. That can give a different answer from MassHealth’s current-month test.

Other details
  • A work change does not automatically mean coverage ends or start an enrollment clock. The counselor can check the actual coverage event and date separately from any income change.

Federal background: marketplace special enrollment after a qualifying event.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“If coverage ends, how would a Connector plan compare with continuation coverage for our child’s treatment and total costs? Could you help us choose and enroll if this is the better fit?”

Why I’m asking: I want to compare costs, start dates and the treatment network before a coverage change.

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

Apply inside the 60 days and check the network before choosing a plan.

Your social worker

A certified assister or the hospital counsellor can sit with you through the application.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The Health Connector.
Ask your social worker
“Our coverage is ending on a date I can name. Can you help me apply at the Health Connector inside the 60 days, and check the oncology team is in the plan I pick?”

How to apply

First step: The Health Connector at betterhealthconnector.com or 1-877-623-6765 can confirm the qualifying event, selection deadline, payment deadline and start date.

  1. Apply within 60 days of the coverage ending.
  2. Check the oncology team is in the plan network before you choose.
  3. Ask whether the household falls under ConnectorCare.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply at betterhealthconnector.com or call 1-877-623-6765. The same application screens for MassHealth.

What to gather

  • The letter saying coverage is ending and the date
  • Household income for the year
  • The list of doctors and hospitals you need in network

How long: The Connector confirms the coverage start date and payment deadline. The usual post-loss selection window is 60 days for job coverage and 90 days for Medicaid or CHIP.

Clock: The Health Connector gives 60 days after a qualifying event, including losing MassHealth and losing job coverage.

What a yes looks like

A plan choice with a premium and, below the state line, no deductible.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the window has closed, ask whether another qualifying event opens a new one, and re-check MassHealth on this month’s income.

Watch out

  • Job-plan and Medicaid/CHIP losses have different selection windows. An income or work change alone does not establish coverage loss.
  • Enhanced federal credits ended on December 31, 2025, so a family above the state line pays full price now.
  • Check the oncology team is in the plan before you choose; changing later is hard.

Dates that change this

2026-01-01: Enhanced federal premium credits expired on December 31, 2025, and income above four times the poverty line no longer draws an advance credit in 2026.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

ConnectorCare plans have no deductible and low or no premium up to four times the poverty line: $128,600 a year for four people, $106,600 for three.

  • $128,600/year — Top of the 2026 ConnectorCare table, household of 4 (annual)
  • $106,600/year — Top of the 2026 ConnectorCare table, household of 3 (annual)
  • $84,600/year — Top of the 2026 ConnectorCare table, household of 2 (annual)
  • $22,000/year — Published amount added for each additional person (annual)
  • $60 — Days to enrol after a qualifying loss of coverage

Covers: A Health Connector plan · ConnectorCare help with premiums and cost sharing below four times the poverty line

Legal protection: A qualifying job-plan loss generally allows plan selection 60 days before or after the loss; Medicaid or CHIP loss generally allows 90 days after loss.

What it costs the family: ConnectorCare plans have $0 or low monthly premiums and no deductibles. Above the table, the plan is full price.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
ConnectorCare to 400% of poverty on the 2025 poverty guidelines for the 2026 plan year
Enrolment
A qualifying job-plan loss generally permits 60 days before or after the loss. Medicaid or CHIP loss generally permits 90 days after loss under 45 CFR 155.420(c)(6), effective January 1, 2024; the Connector confirms event, selection deadline and start date.
Residency
Massachusetts

The trap: The type and date of coverage loss determine the selection window. Enhanced federal premium credits ended December 31, 2025; 2026 income help also depends on other coverage, tax and eligibility conditions.

Where I read this

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