Realizing Medicaid’s Potential to Support Young Children and Families: From Policy to Meaningful Systems and Practice Change

Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program serve roughly half of all young and the vast majority of low-income children under age six. In recent years, a number of states have taken steps to improve Medicaid’s ability to more effectively serve young children and their families from screenings to needed interventions, such as parent-child therapy. Broad awareness of the maternal health crisis has further compelled states to adopt health equity priorities in state Medicaid programs to more effectively reach and serve communities of color. The children’s mental health crisis coming out of the pandemic also raises questions about opportunities to better address children’s social-emotional development before they reach kindergarten. As states advance new policy changes, such as 12-month postpartum coverage or new screening requirements in pediatric primary care, what steps are needed to ensure that these improvements translate to change at the systems and practice levels? As many states seek to advance health equity as part of their Medicaid priorities, where does sustained community and family engagement come in to ensure implementation of new policies works as intended? This session will feature national and state perspectives from Oregon and Washington on opportunities to realize the potential of Medicaid to make lasting improvements for young children and their families.

Session Slide Deck