Ensuring a healthy foundation for children is an essential investment into the future of our nation and the next generation, and it starts with educating parents, caregivers, health professionals, and policymakers. Modern Medicaid Alliance partner Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) developed Medicaid-focused resources that allow these stakeholders to identify needs in their communities and support health coverage for children.
Fact Sheets on Medicaid and Child Health
To help families and policymakers navigate Medicaid benefits on behalf of the millions of children enrolled in the program, CHA produced the Kids Rely on Medicaid Fact Sheet. This resource provides educational information on benefits such as the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment benefit, through which children can receive immunizations, check-ups, vision and dental services, and mental health support.
CHA’s resources also highlight the importance of Medicaid for children born with serious medical conditions. By providing coverage for key health services and coordinating with children’s hospitals across the country, Medicaid provides an essential safety net to ensure children receive the care they need.
In addition to highlighting the benefits of Medicaid for children in the U.S., CHA’s Kids Coverage Fact Sheet addresses alternative coverage programs beyond Medicaid, such as employer-sponsored insurance, Exchanges, and TRICARE for active-duty service members and their families. The factsheet also covers benefits offered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program — a jointly-funded insurance program that fills gaps by offering low-cost coverage to children in families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, though not enough to purchase private insurance.
The youth mental health crisis has exacerbated the need for mental health support for America’s children. In fact, mental health care visits at children’s hospitals for children ages 6 to 12 years old doubled from 2016-2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made the issue even more pertinent. According to CHA’s Focusing on Mental Health factsheet, it is more important than ever to invest in services that support and promote the timely access to pediatric mental health care.
By offering information and resources on both health challenges and solutions, CHA is working to combat the most urgent health needs for children in America.
RICH Data: Resource for Interactive Child Health (RICH) Data
Additionally, CHA developed a new resource to help better understand children’s health in every state. By clicking on any state, parents and policymakers can explore statistics about children’s coverage, poverty, access to preventive care, special health care needs, and food security. RICH Data draws figures from several credible sources, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, American Community Survey, National Survey of Children’s Health, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Children’s Hospital Association.
By highlighting the current state of child health, RICH Data shows viewers areas of improvement within their communities. Through interactive exploration of coverage spectrums and relative graphs of adverse childhood experiences, lack of preventative care and percentage of children in poverty compared to other states, RICH Data creates a more effective and efficient means to advocate for the health needs of children.
Learn more about the state of children’s health in your state through CHA’s interactive dashboard.