Children’s Health Analysis & Letter to Congress
side-by-side-childrens-healthy-development7-28-09
Dear Senator/Representative:
Over the last decade, we have made huge gains for children because of the success of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid, which serve as the cornerstone of coverage for one-third of our nation’s children. President Obama’s decision to make children’s coverage a top priority by reauthorizing CHIP on February 4th, 2009 was a critical step forward for kids. With your leadership, health reform can build on this progress and finish the job of covering all children.
For health care reform to be viewed as a success, it must ensure that everyone has access to high-quality, affordable care — that includes the millions of children who remain uninsured or who can’t get the services they need, despite having an insurance card. Despite recent gains, millions of children remain uninsured because they cannot afford coverage or because their families face red-tape barriers when attempting to sign them up. As we move forward on health reform, it is important to keep in mind a central tenet of reform articulated by President Obama at a recent talk in Chicago, Illinois: “My view is health care reform should be guided by a simple principle: Fix what’s broken and build on what works. And that’s what we intend to do.” With this goal in mind, we respectfully ask for your consideration of the following four principles:
Do No Harm to Children. Health reform should not turn back the clock on the progress our nation has achieved for children’s health coverage. One-third of our nation’s children receive their health care through Medicaid and CHIP. Before moving children out of these successful programs, Congress should ensure that children will receive comparable or better benefits, cost-sharing protections, and access to care under any new program. Congress must ensure that children do not lose the benefits and cost-sharing protections they already have under Medicaid and CHIP. If we fail to protect children, we will spend $1 trillion over ten years but leave roughly 10 million children worse off.
Preserve Medicaid. Medicaid offers a broad benefits package which includes Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) services, an expansive definition of “medical necessity” that promotes children’s healthy development, interpretation and translation services, and targeted case management. By providing these services, as well as other guarantee and accountability provisions, Medicaid and CHIP go beyond commercial plans in meeting the unique needs of low-income children and children with special health needs. Further, improving payment rates for Medicaid providers is an essential part of preserving this vital program.
Insure All Children. Six million children are eligible but not enrolled in public health coverage. Eliminating red tape and bureaucracy by simplifying enrollment would be the cheapest, quickest and smartest first step toward ensuring that the lowest-income children are covered. Parents should have a hassle-free way to secure coverage for their children through a “No Wrong Door” system that links them to Medicaid, CHIP, or another insurance program, depending on their eligibility criteria.
Cover Kids from Head to Toe. All children need coverage that meets their unique developmental needs, and provides them with the preventive services, medical care, and oral and mental health benefits needed to launch them on a better trajectory in life. Access to the right care at the right time is an essential element of system reform, and we urge you to ensure that limits on benefits or high cost-sharing will not create barriers to care that children need for healthy development.
We look forward to working with you to build upon the strengths of children’s current health care coverage and to make needed reforms to improve quality, access, and affordability of care for children. There are no do-overs for childhood. We must get health reform right the first time by enacting legislation that improves coverage and care for America’s children.
Sincerely,
Action for Children North Carolina
Advocates for Children and Youth (Maryland)
All Kids Covered Colorado
Alliance for Children and Families
Aloha United Way (Hawaii)
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
American Association of Children’s Residential Centers
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of School Administrators
The American Dance Therapy Association
American Humane Association
American Pediatric Association
Arkansas Voices for the Children Left Behind, Inc.
The Autism Society of America
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Beckett Family Consulting
California Children’s Hospital Association
Camp Fire USA
Center for Adolescent Health & the Law
Center for Law and Social Policy
Central Region Education Cooperative (New Mexico)
Child and Family Policy Center (Iowa)
Child Welfare League of America
Children and Family Action Network (Louisiana)
Children First for Oregon
Children Now (California)
Children’s Alliance (Washington)
Children’s Campaign, Inc. (Florida)
Children’s Dental Health Project
Children’s HealthWatch
The Children’s Health Fund
Children’s Hospital Association of Texas
Children’s Leadership Council
The Children’s Partnership
The Children’s Village (New York)
Christ Child House (Michigan)
Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, Inc.
Citizens for Missouri’s Children
Coalition for Community Schools
Coalition on Human Needs
Colorado Association of Family and Children’s Agencies
Colorado Children’s Campaign
Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County (California)
Community Catalyst
Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders
Covering Kids & Families of Indiana, Inc.
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
D.C. Assembly on School Health Care
DePelchin Children’s Center (Texas)
Docs for Tots
Easter Seals
Every Child Matters Education Fund
Family and Children’s Service (Minnesota)
Family Connection of Easton, Inc. (Pennsylvania)
Family Voices
Family Voices of New Jersey
Family Voices of North Dakota
First Focus
Forum for Youth Investment
Foster Family-based Treatment Association
Generations United
Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Grandchildren Training Project
Greater Twin Cities United Way
Healthy Teen Network
HIV/AIDS Services for African Americans in Alaska
Hospital Traveler, Inc.
Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley
Kansas Action for Children
Kentucky Youth Advocates
Lafayette Urban Ministry (Indiana)
LEAnet
Learning Disabilities Association of America
Legislative Coalition of Virginia Nurses
Los Angeles Unified School District
Lutheran Family and Children’s Services of Missouri
Lutheran Social Services of New England
Maine Children’s Alliance
Maine Equal Justice Partners
Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy
Mélange Health Solutions (North Carolina)
Mental Health America
Michigan’s Children
Mom’s Rising
The National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health
National Assembly on School-Based Health Care
National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of School Nurses
National Association of School Psychologists
National Black Child Development Institute
National Center for Housing & Child Welfare
National Collaboration for Youth
National Council of La Raza
National Disability Rights Network
National Education Association
National Foster Care Coalition
National Head Start Association
National Health Law Program
National Healthy Start Association
National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality
National Network for Youth
National PTA
The National Policy Partnership for Children of Incarcerated Parents (Arkansas)
Nevada Covering Kids and Families
New England Alliance for Children’s Health
New Jersey Alliance for Children, Youth and Families
New Mexico Voices for Children
New York State Coalition for School-Based Health Centers
North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center (New York)
Oregon School-Based Health Care Network
Oshkosh Area United Way (Wisconsin)
The Ounce of Prevention Fund
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
Phyllis Wheatley Community Center (Minnesota)
PICO National Network
Presbyterian Children’s Services (Missouri)
Public Education Network
The Rebecca Project for Human Rights
Roanoke City Public Schools
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
School Social Work Association of America
Society for Adolescent Medicine
Southern Oregon Adolescent Study and Treatment Center
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of New Jersey
Tennessee Primary Care Association
The Unity School
United Neighborhood Centers of America
United Way of Central Indiana
United Way of Central Kane County (Illinois)
United Way of Florida
United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region (Tennessee)
United Way of Greater Portland (Maine)
United Way of Hunterdon County (New Jersey)
United Way of Portage County, Inc. (Ohio)
United Way of Santa Cruz County
United Way for Southeastern Michigan
United Ways of Tennessee
USAction
Voices for America’s Children
Voices for Ohio’s Children
Voices for Utah Children
Voices for Vermont’s Children
Voices for Virginia’s Children
WEEL Empowers
Youth Villages, Inc.
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