AAP updates medicaid policy statement with ACA changes

(HealthDay)—The implications of the expansion of Medicaid resulting from implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on children are discussed in a policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published online April 4 in Pediatrics.

Thomas Chiu, M.D., M.B.A., and colleagues from the AAP Committee on Child Health Financing revised the 2005 Medicaid Policy Statement to reflect the opportunities for changes in state Medicaid programs resulting from implementation of the 2010 ACA.
The authors note that the expansion of Medicaid will increase the number of eligible children. Pediatric patients will also benefit from the expansion of adult Medicaid, as many children lose health insurance when they become young adults. The AAP has advocated for care approaches that focus on achieving improved health outcomes while decreasing the cost of care; they support newer health-based programs, such as Medicaid accountable care organizations, that aim to achieve these objectives. The policy statement discusses the impact of the ACA on benefit coverage, financing and payment, eligibility, enrollment, managed care, and quality improvement.

"To date, governmental health policy on both state and federal levels has not adequately met the medical, behavioral, and developmental needs of children," the authors write. "The ACA has provided a framework to redress some of these deficiencies."

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