For years, pediatric providers, children’s advocates, parents, and others have advocated that the child health delivery system focus more on family-based primary and preventive care, including social and economic drivers of health. Unfortunately, reforming the pediatric delivery system often has taken a back seat to other health policy priorities.
However, 2020 has moved the issue to center stage. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the indelible connections between a child’s well-being and the status of their families, schools, and communities, as well as the lifelong health impact of systemic racism and discrimination that begins in childhood. It is more important than ever to identify the specific policy options that can support transformation of the child health delivery system, particularly for the over four in ten of the nation’s children covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).