Potential Cuts to Medicaid/MassHealth Will Harm Children, Early Educators, and Child Care
Medicaid or MassHealth is important to the early education and child care sector in Massachusetts. Medicaid is the joint federal and state program that provides health insurance to adults and children with limited incomes and resources. In Massachusetts, it is called MassHealth. In Massachusetts, according to 2022 data, 15% of early educators rely on MassHealth for health insurance and 41% of early educator households utilized one or more public safety net programs, including Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credit, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Cutting Medicaid would greatly impact early educators who rely on it. It would also have devastating effects on young children and their families. Nearly half of Massachusetts children access health care through MassHealth. Nationally 31 million children and nearly 1 in 4 early educators rely on Medicaid for health coverage.
On April 10, 2025, U.S. House Representatives agreed to the Senate’s amendment to their budget resolution, moving Congress one step closer to finalizing the federal budget and tax legislation. The budget resolution includes substantial spending cuts of $2 trillion. It orders the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to cut $880 billion in spending in the next decade. This committee oversees Medicaid and Medicare, which has set off alarm bells over the potential cut to either or both programs.
A reduction in Medicaid will directly impact children and the underpaid educators who care for them. Cuts could lead to fewer children and educators having access to health insurance or benefits, increased and undiagnosed health issues for children and educators as they would be less able to receive health care, and greater spread of illnesses. Access to health care is important for supporting children’s physical and emotional health, development, and ability to reach their full potential in the long term.
Additionally, a reduction in Medicaid would directly affect the workforce and the economy as child care is the workforce that enables the workforce to function. More sick children mean they will not be able to attend their early education and care programs leading parents to miss work. More sick educators will cause educators to miss work, potentially interrupt care, and exacerbate the well-being of early educators and the state of child care. The state of child care in Massachusetts has stabilized over the past couple of years due to the Commonwealth Cares for Children program. However, wages for educators are still low and some educators are not provided health insurance through their employer causing them to rely on MassHealth. A reduction in Medicaid could lead more educators to leave the field in search of positions that provide health insurance and better pay. A threat to Medicaid is a threat to children’s and educators’ health and child care.
The next step in the federal budget resolution process is for the House and Senate committees to determine how to make the spending cuts established in the budget resolution. We will keep you posted on this issue as it develops. If you haven’t already, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, the Policy Pulse. In it you will find an overview of what’s happening with Massachusetts and national child care policy and information on what you can do to take action and join the movement for a transformed early education and care system.
If this is an issue you care about, tell your legislators to save Medicaid. Follow this link to our website where you can find out who your Representative and Senator is and how to contact them.