WORCESTER, MA — Worcester Community Action Council and the City of Fitchburg will each receive $120,000 over two years to help eligible residents maintain health insurance coverage as new federal Medicaid requirements approach, according to an Oct. 20 announcement from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.
The two Worcester County recipients are among nine organizations selected for the foundation’s new OB3 Impacts Defense Fund – Mitigating Coverage Loss. Each will receive $60,000 annually for the initiative’s first two years.
The funding is intended to support enrollment and renewal assistance, individual help navigating coverage requirements, and connections to food and housing services. The foundation said it selected organizations serving areas with large numbers of affected MassHealth members and limited enrollment support.
Preparing for MassHealth changes
The initiative responds to federal changes enacted in July 2025 through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as H.R. 1.
Beginning in January 2027, some MassHealth members will face new work and education requirements and more frequent eligibility renewals. MassHealth says affected members will need to renew their coverage every six months instead of annually. The requirements do not apply to every member.
The foundation’s announcement cites a state estimate that approximately 300,000 Massachusetts residents could lose insurance coverage because of the law. That is a projected statewide impact, not a count of people who have already lost coverage or an estimate specific to Worcester County.
“We created this grant program after meeting with community-based organizations, state health officials, and other funders to identify where additional resources could have the greatest impact,” foundation President and CEO Kaitlyn Kenney Walsh said in the announcement.
The foundation announced $575,000 for the coverage assistance initiative. Nine annual awards of $60,000 account for $540,000, with a separate one-year, $35,000 grant going to Health Care for All to provide technical assistance for outreach, education and enrollment efforts. The nine recipients’ second-year awards are additional to that first-year calculation.
Along with WCAC and Fitchburg, recipients include organizations serving western Massachusetts, southeastern Massachusetts, and Cape Cod and the Islands.
The announcement does not specify when WCAC or Fitchburg will begin offering assistance funded by these grants, how residents will access that assistance, or how many people each recipient expects to serve.
Separate grants support perinatal care
The foundation also announced more than $850,000 in second-year grants to 18 organizations through its Perinatal Health Initiative. Together, the two funding announcements total more than $1.42 million.
The perinatal grants range from $25,000 to $60,000 and support services related to pregnancy, childbirth and the period after birth. Funded activities include community education, workforce development, policy and advocacy work, doula and midwifery services, lactation support, and mental health resources.
According to the foundation, the second year of funding will allow organizations to expand services and build on programs developed during the initiative’s first year. The program aims to reduce disparities in perinatal health outcomes and expand access to culturally responsive care.
Residents seeking information about which federal changes may affect their coverage can visit the state’s MassHealth member changes page.
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Project / Topic: Foundation grants for health coverage assistance and perinatal health.
Current Status: Board approval announced by the foundation on Oct. 20, 2026. Payment and local program launch dates were not provided.
Key Dates or Decisions: Announcement dated Oct. 20, 2026; new renewal requirements for some MassHealth members begin Jan. 1, 2027.
Estimated Cost: Announced funding exceeds $1.42 million. WCAC and Fitchburg are each allocated $60,000 annually for two years. Total program operating costs were not provided.
Timeline: Coverage assistance awards span two years; Health Care for All’s technical assistance award covers one year. Perinatal awards support the second year of a two-year initiative.
Immediate Next Steps: Local recipients’ service schedules and access details have not been provided. Members can consult MassHealth’s official guidance about coverage changes.
Primary Sources: Foundation’s supplied Oct. 20 press release; MassHealth’s published information on federal changes and more frequent renewals.
What We Do Not Yet Know: Local launch dates, staffing plans, participation targets, payment dates, and which second-year perinatal awards specifically serve Worcester County.
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