Monthly Vitals: Your Advocacy Update

Putting kids first during Mental Health Awareness Month

The U.S. is still facing a youth mental health crisis. Approximately 29% of adolescents reported experiencing poor mental health in the past year, and 20% seriously considered suicide. This Mental Health Awareness Month, CHA is encouraging Congress to support investments in Medicaid, the pediatric health care workforce, and services that promote access to critical pediatric mental health care.

View the mental health fact sheet to learn more about the crisis and ways to prioritize the unique needs of children and adolescents. For questions, please contact Cynthia Whitney, CHA's director of federal affairs.

Congress must pass H.R. 1735/S. 779 – EARLY Minds Act

Representatives August Pfluger (R-TX), Kathy Castor (D-FL), John Joyce (R-PA), and John Sarbanes (D-MD), along with Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), introduced the bipartisan EARLY Minds Act, which improves the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant by enabling support for the services kids need most.

Learn more about the EARLY Minds Act and its impact on children's health.

Medicaid is vital for mental health access

On May 5, CHA and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) participated in a discussion on X/Twitter about the importance of the Medicaid program in ensuring access to vital mental health care and resources.

Highlights from the chat included:

• Medicaid is the largest payor of mental and behavioral health services for children.
• Children covered by Medicaid are two to three times more likely to receive critical preventative care for mental health needs than uninsured children.
• Medicaid is a lifeline for access to treatment for both mothers and youth in need of substance use disorder care.

Read more about the importance of Medicaid for pediatric patients and the hospitals that serve them.

Youth Mental Health Awareness Roundtable

On May 6, the Congressional Mental Health Caucus held a Youth Mental Health Awareness Roundtable to hear directly from young people about their experiences with mental health conditions, including the challenges and the support that helped most during their treatment journeys.

Children's Hospital of Colorado patient, Lucy Hartman, 14, shared her powerful story and advocated for greater investment in the child and adolescent mental health care workforce. Hear directly from Lucy about her experience.

April is Medicaid Awareness Month

Medicaid cuts put children’s access to vital health care at risk — Congress must act to protect the program and the millions of children who depend on it.

• Approximately 37.6 million children are enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP, representing about 47% of all enrollees.
• Over 40% of children in rural areas and small towns are enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP.
• Medicaid is a critical resource that nearly 3 million children in military-connected families are eligible for or covered by.
• Medicaid/CHIP covers almost half of all U.S. children with special health care needs.

To learn more about what the Medicaid program means for children’s hospitals and the pediatric patients they serve, explore this Medicaid fact sheet. You can also view CHA’s letter to leadership urging for support of the program. Additionally, learn more about how critical state directed payments and provider taxes are for pediatric care.

CHA’ CEO, Matt Cook in Becker's Health: Congress must protect Medicaid to safeguard children’s health

This month, Becker’s Health included an op-ed from CHA’s CEO, Matt Cook, on the importance of Medicaid for pediatric patients nationwide. Read it on Becker's.

From Medicaid to Private Plans: How Kids Get Care Briefing

The bipartisan Children’s Health Care Caucus held a briefing March 10 on Capitol Hill. The discussion focused on the importance of the Medicaid program and the need to strengthen and protect Medicaid for the 37 million children who rely on the program.

CHA participated in this briefing along with the American Academy of Pediatrics and other national organizations focused on children's health. The briefing was moderated by CHA’s VP of Policy, Aimee Ossman, and featured opening remarks from caucus co-chair Rep. John Joyce (R-PA) and panelists including Susan Kressly, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Joan Alker, Executive Director at Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families; and Chioma Mary Oruh, a patient advocate.

CHA thanks caucus co-chairs Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) and John Joyce (R-PA) for their leadership and advocacy for children’s health. View resources from the briefing.

Welcome to the 119th Congress

As the 119th Congress starts work this month, Children’s Hospital Association has compiled resources that explain the unique health needs of pediatric patients and the critical role children’s hospitals play in caring for them.

The packet includes information about our children’s hospitals, the federal programs that help them best serve America’s children, and the following key priorities:

• Strengthening and protecting Medicaid and pediatric health coverage overall.
• Boosting the pediatric workforce, especially through robust funding of the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME).
• Investing in policies to address the youth mental health crisis.
• Understanding the consequences of proposals that could jeopardize care for children.

Stand up for kids in year-end legislation

Pediatric hospitals continue to be flooded with children impacted by mental health crises and are bracing for another season of respiratory illnesses and other health care needs. It is critical that Congress take action before the end of the year to sustain children's hospitals' ability to provide high-quality, timely, and appropriate care. Our children and adolescents cannot wait for needed federal support.

CHA has laid out our most-pressing priorities in this letter, which asks Congress to:

Pass Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act

The Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act has strong bipartisan support and passed the House of Representatives by voice vote in September 2024. We ask that you include this vital legislation in an end-of-the-year package to improve children’s access to essential health care while eliminating administrative burdens for providers and states.

Prevent Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) cuts

Hospitals are facing $8 billion in annual payment cuts to the Medicaid DSH program, which are scheduled to begin January 1, 2025. We ask Congress to act immediately to stop these cuts as they would be devastating to children’s hospitals and their ability to provide care for children.

Support CHGME

We are grateful for the robust funding Congress has proposed for CHGME and are hopeful that you can maintain this support without any policy riders as you seek to complete your work for fiscal year 2025.

Stop harmful proposals that impact children’s access to care

We ask that you consider the unique and harmful impact certain health care policies, like site neutral or attacks on 340B, can have on access to care for children.

Ensure children’s hospitals can participate in the hospital at home program

We are asking Congress to ensure children’s hospitals can participate in the Hospital at Home program so children with complex conditions can get the care they need in the best setting for them.

Support pediatrics in hurricane relief package

We hope you will include the following priorities in a hurricane relief package:

• Prioritize pediatric needs when addressing the IV fluid supply.
• Reauthorize the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Program.
• Provide $7 million (level funding) for Pediatric Disaster Centers of Excellence.
• Authorize a one-year extension of the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters (NACCD).

Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act becomes law

Thank you to Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Young (R-IN) and Reps. Bilirakis (R-FL), Soto (D-FL), Schiff (D-CA), and Carter (R-GA) for your bipartisan leadership to advance research and awareness about congenital heart defects! This legislation will ensure children will receive timely, high-quality care for congenital heart defects, save children’s lives, and improve their outcomes as they grow.

Kennedy and her teacher become 'heart-twins'

When Kennedy was only six years old, she was diagnosed with a heart defect that required open-heart surgery. Her mom brought her to AdventHealth for Children where doctors guided Kennedy and her family through every step of the surgery. Soon after Kennedy underwent surgery, she connected with an unlikely friend who was going through a similar experience. Her kindergarten teacher had a heart attack and was taken to AdventHealth for cardiac bypass surgery. Read their story and others Made Possible by Your Children’s Hospital.

Support for military-connected families

A CHA report underscores Medicaid’s significance in enabling health care access for nearly 3 million children in military-connected families. The report also highlights how children’s hospitals are a crucial resource for military and veteran families.

More than 2.3 million children in the U.S. help care for, or are impacted by, an active duty or veteran family member. CHA joined the Hidden Helper Coalition to advocate for the mental health needs of children and teens in caregiving homes. By partnering with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Nemours Children’s Health, and other members of the Coalition, we can make a greater impact for these families.

Nemours Children’s co-hosted an event with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del) to raise awareness of the unique needs of children living with a wounded, ill, or injured service member or veteran. The TRICARE for Kids Coalition, of which CHA is a member, sent a letter to Congressional Armed Services leaders sharing recommendations to improve care and access to care — including access to children’s hospitals — for military-connected children in the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.

National IV fluid shortage

CHA sent a letter to Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting the Department of Health and Human Services prioritize pediatric needs with access to IV fluid products. Lack of access to these products is especially critical for pediatric patients, like premature infants, who require additional nutritional support. HHS has since taken action on many of CHA's recommendations in the letter. Children are not little adults. As Congress develops health care policy, we encourage you to prioritize and consider the unique needs of children and the providers who serve them, like children’s hospitals.

Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) works with policymakers in Congress and the administration to advocate for policies that allow children's hospitals and health systems to provide effective, patient-first care and ensure every child has access to high-quality, cost-effective health care services.

Here are the latest updates from CHA’s advocacy efforts.

Legislative efforts

The House passed H.R. 4758, the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act, which improves children’s access to needed out-of-state health care by streamlining the burdensome and time-consuming Medicaid provider screening and enrollment process.

The House also passed H.R. 3433, Give Kids a Chance Act, which allows children to access cutting-edge clinical trials and combination drugs to treat pediatric cancer.

Reps. Lori Trahan (D-MA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Michael McCaul (R-TX), and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), championed getting these critical bills through the House and on to the Senate.

Panel discussions

In September, CHA hosted a panel on sickle cell disease at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference. The session featured experts from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Texas Children’s, a patient advocate, and pediatric patients, including Canaan from UH Rainbow Babies in Cleveland.

Canaan’s story reveals the critical need for children and families impacted by sickle cell disease to access life-changing therapies. Learn more about the unique role of children’s hospitals and innovative high-cost therapies.

Childhood Cancer Summit

CHA participated in the 15th Annual Childhood Cancer Summit, where pediatricians from Texas Children’s and Seattle Children’s, pediatric patients, oncologists, and lawmakers spoke on the importance and need for improved pediatric care.

The summit concluded with a two-part presentation on groundbreaking gene and cell therapy research for pediatric cancer treatments. The Childhood Cancer Caucus is led by co-chairs Michael McCaul (R-TX), Kathy Castor (R-FL), Ami Bera (D-CA), and Mike Kelly (R-PA).

Children are not little adults. As Congress develops health care policy, we encourage you to prioritize and consider the unique needs of children and the providers who serve them, like children’s hospitals.