Connecticut stands out as the only state in the country to achieve a statistically significant improvement in the uninsured rate for young children between 2022 and 2024, posting the lowest rate in the nation at 1.5%, according to a new analysis from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) published June 1, 2026.

The national picture moved in the opposite direction. The share of children under age six who were uninsured rose from 4.3% to 5.3% during the same period, reaching its highest level in nearly a decade. Nearly 220,000 additional infants, toddlers, and preschoolers were uninsured in 2024, a 23% increase. The rate of growth among children under six outpaced that of school-aged children, which rose 17% over the same period.

Sixteen states experienced statistically significant increases in both the number and rate of uninsured young children. Three states, Texas, Florida, and Georgia, accounted for more than half of the national increase. Uninsured rates were highest among children of color, with American Indian and Alaska Native children under age six carrying the highest rate of any racial or ethnic group nationally at 10.5%.

The Georgetown CCF analysis draws on American Community Survey (ACS) data from the U.S. Census Bureau covering 2015 through 2024. Researchers attribute the national trend at least in part to the unwinding of Medicaid continuous coverage protections that had been in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medicaid, along with the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), covers nearly three-fourths of low-income children under age six nationally, and more than half of uninsured children are estimated to be eligible for but not enrolled in either program.

The findings carry particular weight given the current federal policy environment. H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in 2025, includes significant Medicaid cuts, work reporting requirements, and more frequent eligibility re-evaluations that researchers warn could further erode coverage gains already under pressure. For young children, the stakes are high: the earliest years represent a critical window for brain development, and missed preventive care during that period can be more difficult and costly to address as children age.

Connecticut's 1.5% uninsured rate for children under six, the lowest in the nation and well below the national rate of 5.3%, reflects the state's sustained investment in children's health coverage. The broader national data, however, serve as a warning for policymakers navigating the consequences of federal Medicaid reductions in the months ahead.