How can Medicaid and CHIP Support Children’s Emotional Health?

In a new webinar, Manatt Health and CSSP present a blueprint for leveraging Medicaid and CHIP to foster children’s healthy emotional and social development and transform pediatric primary care. Click here to register free.

Nearly half of children under age three in the United States get their health insurance through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)¹. With such broad reach, these programs can play a powerful role in influencing the way pediatric care is delivered. Supporting pediatric approaches that help strengthen children’s social and emotional development is a critical place to begin, given that early social and emotional health have life-long consequences for physical and behavioural health, school success and productivity. Medicaid and CHIP policies and payment mechanisms that enable and encourage pediatric care providers to reinforce positive parent-child relationships, model nurturing brain-building interactions, and address health-related social needs build on the deep trust families place in their children’s healthcare providers and can benefit millions of children and their families now and in the future.

How can states leverage Medicaid and CHIP to foster children’s healthy social and emotional development? How can Medicaid and CHIP fuel transformation in pediatric care? What strategies and tactics can state Medicaid agencies, managed care plans, pediatric providers and others put into action to optimize the healthy social and emotional development of children? The Pediatrics Supporting Parents Initiative turned to the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) and Manatt Health to chart a path forward. In a new webinar, we reveal our findings and recommendations—and share a blueprint for driving the transformation of pediatric care through Medicaid and CHIP. Click here to register free. Key topics include:

• The powerful opportunities Medicaid and CHIP present to foster a greater focus in pediatric primary care on children’s social and emotional health—from payment models that incentivize supporting children’s social and emotional development to quality and performance initiatives that spur improvements in pediatric practice
• The critical role parental health and well-being play in children’s social and emotional development
• Specific options and tools for setting and implementing goals focused on the social and emotional development of children, including clear action steps and real-world examples
• The value of investing in team-based care

With evidence mounting that a strong social and emotional foundation sets the stage for a child’s future—from protecting against chronic health conditions to supporting academic and career success—this is a program critical to every healthcare stakeholder. Even if you can’t make the original airing on June 26, click here to register free now and you’ll receive a link to view the webinar on demand.

Presenters
Katie Beckmann, Program Officer, Children, Families and Communities Program, David and Lucile Packard Foundation Jocelyn Guyer, Managing Director, Manatt Health
Donna Cohen Ross, Senior Advisor, Center for the Study of Social Policy

¹ Haley, J., Wang, R., Buettgens, M., Kenney, G. (2017). Health Insurance Coverage among Children Ages 3 and Younger and Their Parents: National and State Estimates. The Urban Institute. Retrieved from https://www.urban.org/research/publication/health-insurance-coverage-among-children-ages-3-and-younger-and-their-parents-national-and-state-estimates/view/full_report.