Medicaid Opportunities for Supporting Early Relational Health

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The ECFC Early Relational Health (ERH)Workgroup explored opportunities for supporting early relational health through Medicaid and EPSDT with with Elisabeth Wright Burak, Senior Fellow, Center for Children and Families (CCF) Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, Health Policy Institute.  Among the challenges and opportunities we explored:

  • Strategies for using doulas to improve maternal health.
  • Assessment/diagnostic strategies for supporting dyadic treatments
  • Billing/coding challenges for ERH related diagnosis and treatment

Several opportunities for supporting ERH through American Rescue Plan funds. Read: Implementing Medicaid’s new 12 month postpartum option (CCF blog); American Rescue Plan health coverage provision that will strengthen public and private health insurance (CCF blog).  Child Health Transformation and a Relational Health Workforce by InCK Marks also outlines unprecedented opportunities in the American Rescue Plan Act to advance children’s, and particularly young children’s, healthy development.

Related Resources on Strategies to Support ERH in Medicaid:

Related Initiatives: 

  • Pediatrics Supporting Parents (PSP) is addressing key structural barriers affecting young children’s health with concrete tools and guidance while also making the case for system-wide transformation of the well-child visit. During the first three years, PSP and partners extracted a set of 14 common practices for promoting social and emotional development from evidence-based programs.  In addition, the initiative’s policy work prioritized reimbursement and public financing by unlocking the funding potential of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through the creation of a Blueprint and multi-state National Medicaid Workgroup. A complementary Guide to leveraging opportunities between Title V and Medicaid was developed to support state-level planning, action, and innovation to promote social and emotional development.   PSP is working in nine states to provide TA, but hearing that tools like the Blueprint are being used in other states to change policy.
  • ZERO TO THREE launched the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Financing Policy Project  (IECMH-FPP) in 2016 with support from the Irving Harris Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Alliance for Early Success, and University of Minnesota to support states’ advancement of IECMH policies that will contribute to the healthy development of young children.
  • National Center for Children in Poverty PRiSM project (Promoting Research-informed State IECMH Policies and Scaled Initiatives) highlights state policies, and profiles exemplary IECMH strategies used in state policies and scaled initiatives. For example, state profiles that include opportunities we discussed:  Dyadic Treatment: ArkansasColoradoConnecticutFloridaNew MexicoOregon; Maternal Depression Screening and Response: LouisianaMassachusettsMichiganNew YorkNorth Carolina.
  • Aligning Early Childhood and Medicaid is a a national initiative made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by CHCS, in partnership with ZERO TO THREE, the National Association of Medicaid Directors, Social Determinants of Health Consulting, and the Public Leadership Group.

Photo credit: ERHmedicaidcarousel

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