Early Childhood
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.
Limited Postpartum Medicaid Coverage Extensions are a Missed Opportunity
States are continuing to push for extending Medicaid coverage for postpartum women beyond the current federal cutoff of 60 days after the end of their pregnancy. Just in the last month, three more states submitted waiver applications to CMS: Indiana, Georgia, and Texas. Before the end of the year, we submitted comments on Indiana’s limited […]
Survey Shows Single-Parent Households with Young Children Bear the Brunt of COVID-Related Stress
COVID-19 is affecting every part of family life, and for parents of young children the financial strain, emotional stress, and burden of care are especially overwhelming. We know that the emotional wellbeing of parents affects their children’s development, especially in the early years of life. In a recent report of a weekly survey to about […]
State Leaders Advance Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Policy, Part 2
Four years after launching ZERO TO THREE’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Financing Policy Project (IECMH-FPP), we have learned a lot about opportunities to advance infant and early childhood mental health policies, even amidst a tough political climate and funding limitations. In an effort to highlight the remarkable accomplishments of IECMH-FPP states, we recently […]
Medicaid Expansion Helped Close Coverage Gaps for Pregnant Women, New Study Finds
Medicaid expansion helped close coverage gaps for low-income women in the months before, during and after pregnancy, reducing the number of women who were uninsured during this critical time, new research published this month in Health Affairs found. The authors define “low-income” as a woman whose income is below 138% FPL, the eligibility limit for […]
As Families Grapple with Schooling Stresses, Congress Must Act
Community Catalyst By: Eva Marie Stahl The Senate is on vacation until next week, having left Washington last month without delivering on the needed support that states and localities urgently require to support families and working people across the country who are living on the edge of financial and health disaster… In a recent survey, […]
New Report Underscores Urgent Need for Better Prenatal Health Care in Rural Areas
Earlier this summer, we called attention to the challenges that women in rural communities face during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and new research from Child Trends shows those challenges and health disparities extend to their young children as well. “Health Care Access for Infants and Toddlers in Rural Areas” found that rural infant and […]