All children need children’s hospitals
Children’s Hospitals Are Essential for All Children
• All hospitals are not the same. Only children’s hospitals have the distinct pediatric focus and concentration of expertise in caring for children.
• Children’s hospitals serve the sickest and most complex cases, providing a pediatric safety net for the rest of the health care system.
• Children’s hospitals train and recruit pediatricians, subspecialists and other health care professionals which benefits all children.
• Children’s hospitals are building the inpatient and outpatient clinical capacity needed to care for children.
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The Children’s Hospital Association of Texas commits its resources and energy to advocating on behalf of children and children’s health care.
Children’s Hospitals in Texas Face Unique Challenges
• Medicaid is the most significant single funding source for health care provided at children’s hospitals. More than half of the patients in children’s hospitals are covered by Medicaid.
• Texas has the fastest growing child population in the country. We have more than 6.6 million children and will have 7.5 million in 2015. About 1 in 5 children live in poverty.
• Texas lags behind other states in private insurance coverage. Only 50.4% of Texas Children have private insurance coverage compared to 61.8% of children nationwide.
• More than 2 million Texas children rely on public programs, Medicaid or the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
• Medicaid provider payments do not cover the costs of serving Medicaid patients.
Medicaid Reform and Children’s Hospitals in Texas:
• Children’s hospitals are major stakeholders in the Medicaid program.
• Although 70% of medicaid enrollees are children, children account for only 30% of the program's costs.
• Medicaid reform should ensure a child’s access to comprehensive benefits under Medicaid and promote the importance of a medical home for every child.
• Medicaid eligibility policy should support continuity of care and promote keeping children as healthy as possible.