Protect Children in Health Reform

Guarantee every child comprehensive health and mental health coverage this year!
Any health care reform legislation must include these principles for children:

• The System Must Be Simple and Seamless. There must be a streamlined application and enrollment process to make it easy for children to get and stay enrolled.  State bureaucratic barriers now keep about two-thirds of the uninsured children who are eligible for CHIP or Medicaid from enrolling.
• Benefits Must Be Comprehensive. Health reform must guaranatee every child access to all medically necessary health and mental health services from head to toe to maximize a child's health and development.
• Coverage Must Be Affordable. All children up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level (about $66,000 for a family of four) need cost sharing protections consistent with current out-of-pocket limits in Medicaid.

No child should be worse off as a result of health reform! 

CDF is working with several national partners and has convened hundreds of groups and secured endorsements from almost 1,300 organizations representing more than 60 million people throughout the United States to champion principles for children and pregnant women.

Download a fact sheet with these principles: Health Coverage for All Children

The Casey Children's CHIP Amendment Will Protect Millions of Children from Being Worse Off!

Millions of children will be worse off than they are now if the House and Senate health reform bills, as they are currently written, become law. As a result, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has filed an amendment to the Senate health reform bill that would make children better off – not worse off! Learn more about the Casey Children’s CHIP Amendment, and take action! 

 

Resources for Real Children's Health Reform

Health Reform Legislative Update

Congress is working hard on Capitol Hill and health reform is center stage. But it continues to take shape in a way that could make millions of children worse – rather than better – off at the same time insurance companies and drug companies will profit. Millions of children could face higher costs for fewer benefits. For children to be better off, changes are needed to make it simple for them to enroll in comprehensive and affordable health coverage. Learn the latest on how health care reform legislation will affect children and whether or not it is fulfilling CDF's key principles with our health reform legislative update.

Let's Build on What Works: Why We Should Keep CHIP and Make it Better

The President has said that health reform ought to build on what works—so rather than dismantle a program that has proven successful in providing affordable health coverage to millions of children, let’s keep CHIP (as the Senate Leadership bill does) until it can be replaced with a system that guarantees comparable or better benefits and caps on out-of-pocket costs for families. No child should be worse off after health reform than they are now.

Children's Health Coverage in your State!

What do children in your state have at stake in the current health reform debate? Our Children’s Health Coverage State Fact Sheets provide a snapshot of health coverage for our nation’s children on a state by state basis, including data on the uninsured, those enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, income eligibility and enrollment procedures.

Who Are the Uninsured Children?

There are more than 8 million uninsured children in America. Overall, about 10.3 percent of children in the United States are uninsured, but the percentage of uninsured children in each state varies widely.   Learn more with our Profile of America's Uninsured Children and about the number and percentage of uninsured children in each state with our clickable map.

Health Reform for Our Youngest Children and Young Adults

Learn about how the health reform bills, passed in the House and pending in the Senate, would affect children early in life and as they transition to adulthood. See Real Child Health Reform for Young Children and Health Reform for Young Adults.

Prepare Yourself for the "Economic Argument" with Our Two Resources

Need some more resources to make your case that all children should have affordable, head-to-toe health coverage? Learn helpful facts on how the current economy is affecting families and their health coverage as well as how health reform will help put our country back on the path to economic recovery. Also, check out our top facts on how providing all children with quality health coverage is not only the right thing to do, but the smart and cost-effective thing to do!

The Lottery of Geography

Did you know that whether or not a family can afford to provide quality health coverage for their child often depends on where they live?  The eligibility criteria (family income and child age), enrollment processes, and benefits covered for the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) and Medicaid vary from state to state. The result? An unjust lottery of geography in which some children are entitled to health coverage, and others are not, based on where they live. To learn more, see our Lottery of Geography video, or this State-by-State Look at Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment Procedures.

Top 12 Children's Health Coverage Myths

We've collected the top 12 myths we've heard during the health care reform debate about children's health coverage and provided the facts behind them. Step up and be a voice for children by learning more and spreading the truth!

CDF's Child Health Video Series

CDF has launched a series short videos aimed at engaging the public on the issue of children's health coverage and urging Congress to enact comprehensive reform to provide quality, affordable health coverage to all people, especially children—this year. Each video will highlight one of the principles CDF is urging lawmakers to include in reform legislation being drafted this month.

Check out the videos and share them with your friends and family!