Education — CT Numbers — Connecticut by the Numbers

Beginning tomorrow - October 23, 2026 - Connecticut early childhood educators and staff will have access to new financial assistance for health insurance premiums through Access Health CT. Made possible by an investment from the state’s Early Childhood Education Endowment, the new subsidy will provide eligible educators and staff with $1,000 to $1,200 annually toward health insurance premiums, depending on household income.

As specified in Public Act 25-93, $10 million of the Fiscal Year ‘27 Endowment is dedicated to a health insurance subsidy program for early childhood workers.

Approximately 7,200 to 8,800 early child care workers will be eligible for the program.

Eligible educators and staff employed by licensed child care centers or operating licensed family child care homes can receive this financial assistance when enrolled in an individual or employer-sponsored health insurance plan through Access Health CT, including an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA), also known as a CHOICE Arrangement.

The new initiative was announced this week at a State Capitol news conference by State Representative Kate Farrar (D-West Hartford/Newington), State Senator Ceci Maher (D-Darien/New Canaan/Redding/Ridgefield/Stamford/Weston/ Westport/Wilton), and Commissioner Elena Trueworthy, Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC), tri-chairs of the Early Childhood Education Endowment, joined by Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz, and Maria Amado, President of the CSEA SEIU Local 2001 Child Care Council Union and family child care educator and owner of Green World Daycare.

The event was described as a celebration of a significant investment in the health and well-being of Connecticut’s early childhood education workforce.

"Access to affordable health insurance is essential to the health, well-being, and financial security of our early childhood workforce. As health insurance costs skyrocket, this new assistance supports the dedicated professionals who care for our youngest children and who our Connecticut families and businesses rely on every day," said Rep. Farrar.

"This initiative makes sure the people we trust to care for and educate our children will be better able to manage their health in the process, strengthening our systems," said Sen. Maher. "We’re entering the fall and winter, historically a time when respiratory viruses are circulating, and there’s no better time for us to reinforce the importance of health care – and health care affordability – than now."

"It is critical that we continue to support our childcare providers – a profession that has been largely dominated by women and historically underappreciated – so that they may provide the highest quality education," said Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz. "Access to high-quality early childhood education has direct links to a child’s social, emotional, and physical well-being not just during the years they are enrolled in a program – but throughout their lives. Ensuring that childcare providers can access the healthcare they need ensures healthier and happier classrooms."

"The Early Childhood Education Endowment has made it possible to establish a much-needed health insurance subsidy for early childhood educators in licensed child care settings, including child care centers, group child homes, and family child care homes," said OEC Commissioner Elena Trueworthy. "With this subsidy, early childhood staff can better afford the cost of health insurance so they get the health care they need. This creates an incentive for them to remain in their important career, caring for and educating our young children."

"A big part of our mission at Access Health CT is reducing the uninsured rate in our state. Helping more people get health insurance is a crucial part of that mission," said Access Health CT Chief Executive Officer James Michel. "With this new initiative, nearly 8,000 of Connecticut's early childhood employees will get financial help to lower their health insurance costs. This is a great step forward, and we are proud to partner with Governor Lamont, the General Assembly and the Office of Early Childhood on this investment."

"Providers are overwhelmingly women who are underpaid working well over 40 hours a week to keep our economy running. We open our homes up to families, and when one of the kids inevitably gets sick, we should be able to see a doctor and know we can afford it. But for a decade, childcare providers have been fighting for the right to affordable healthcare and all we ever heard were excuses. Until now,” explained Maria Amado.

“We already know what this healthcare subsidy for childcare providers will mean for our members because CSEA won permanent health care subsidy funding for paraeducators just last year. It’s the same story: a majority-women workforce that is foundational to our education system, underpaid, and working in schools where every illness goes around. Affordable health care shouldn’t be out of reach for the people who care for our kids.”

Through this investment, the Early Childhood Education Endowment is helping reduce financial barriers, strengthen Connecticut’s early childhood workforce, and support the long-term stability of child care programs statewide, officials pointed out.

They indicated that the initiative reflects Connecticut’s commitment to ensuring that early childhood educators and staff can access essential benefits and build greater financial security for themselves and their families, while advancing a stronger, healthier, and more sustainable early childhood education system.