A child’s brain develops most rapidly in the earliest years of life, building the foundation for learning, behavior and health. Medicaid, along with CHIP, serves four out of five young children in low-income families, serving as a logical place to reach these children and their families before kindergarten.

Prioritizing young children and their families in Medicaid through cross-sector, innovative practice change has the potential to improve their lifetime trajectories, overall population health and long-run savings. Through blog posts, papers, and resources, CCF seeks to highlight ways Medicaid can do more to set our nation’s youngest children on a path of healthy physical, social, and emotional development.

Reports and Briefs

• Rate of Uninsured Toddlers and Infants on the Rise, April 6, 2020
• Nation’s Youngest Children Lose Health Coverage at an Alarming Rate, December 11, 2019
• Coverage for Children Under 6 Reversed Course Between 2016 and 2017, December 18, 2018
• Using Medicaid to Ensure the Healthy Social and Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers, November 21, 2018
• Future of Children’s Health Care Coverage: Promoting Young Children’s Healthy Development in Medicaid and CHIP, October 17, 2018

Blogs

• CMS Releases Telehealth Toolkit with Special Emphasis on Pediatrics, April 23, 2020
• The Rate of Uninsured Infants and Toddlers is Growing. Don’t Let COVID-19 Pandemic Make Things Worse, April 8, 2020
• State Leaders Advance Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Policy, March 3, 2020
• New Resource Highlights What Works for Healthy Social and Emotional Development of Young Children, January 28, 2020
• In Medicaid Expansion States, Fewer Young Children Go Uninsured, January 15, 2020
• Early Childhood Investments Less Effective if Young Children Remain Uninsured, December 11, 2019
• Groundwork Ohio Seeks to Improve Managed Care Procurement to Advance a Vision for Young Children, December 2, 2019
• Medicaid and CHIP are Powerful Tools for Supporting Child Social and Emotional Development, June 21, 2019
• Counting All Children in the 2020 Census Would Benefit Poor Children: State and Local Advocates Can Help, June 18, 2019
• State Policymakers Can Give Children the Best Start in Life by Maximizing and Aligning Investments, June 14, 2019
• How Does Health Coverage for Adults Impact Children’s Healthy Development?, June 12, 2019
• Medicaid and Early Childhood Home Visiting Collaboration: A Washington Perspective, May 1, 2019
• When Early Childhood Educators are Covered, Kids Win: Stories from North Carolina, March 29, 2019
• What States Can Do to Help Babies and Their Families Thrive, March 7, 2019

Webinars

• Medicaid’s Role in Ensuring Young Children’s Healthy Emotional Development
• Developmental Screenings in Medicaid and CHIP: Federal Progress, State Opportunities

For even more reports and briefs on early childhood, visit our Early Childhood page.