Update from AAP Chapter Meeting
By: Lisa Runyon, NAPNAP Liaison to Utah Chapter of AAP
The Utah NAPNAP chapter has a non-voting position on the Utah American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) state Executive Board. This past month the Utah AAP chapter hosted a Child Advocacy Forum evening meeting, November 13th at Primary Children’s Medical Center. The Utah AAP chapter feels the one of the most effective ways to help protect the health and safety of children is to advocate on their behalf. The forum brought together pediatricians form across the state, as well as state lawmakers, child advocates and other individuals interested in making children a political priority.
Claudia Fruin, immediate AAP Past President and now Legislative Chair welcomed the group and introduced the panel of speakers. Dr. Bill McDonnell first reviewed the US Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act 9ACA) and options for the Utah Medicaid program. Dr. McDonnell is an Emergency Medicine physician at PCMC and a Law professor at University of Utah.
The Lindsi McCoard spoke about her personal account as a third year medical student with a young child with special health care needs and her own recent diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She highlighted the challenges she faces with her limited resources. Other panel members included Gina Pola-Money, Director of Utah Family Voices and Dr. Raymond Ward a Family Physician at Cope Family Medicine who reviewed their interaction with families with a wide variety of health care needs.
The panel also had speakers from our Utah legislature including Senator Christensen, Chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee and Representative James Dunnigan Chairman of the Health Systems Reform Task force. Both gentlemen talked about the challenges that the state of Utah is facing with the upcoming changes in Medicaid coverage.
Concluding remarks were from Lincoln Nehring, Senior Health Policy Analyst for the Voices of Utah Children group. He reviewed recent studies that bring to light the specific number of children under age 18 who are in need of services.
There are many challenges that face families, child advocates and law makers regarding the future changes to Medicaid coverage and the effect on access to health care in Utah and across the United States. I encourage any Utah NAPNAP member to take each opportunity you may have to educate yourself and be and advocate for the pediatric population and their families who we see daily in each of our practice settings.
Attached information sheet:
http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/federal-advocacy/access-to-care/Medicaid%20Fact%20Sheets/utah.pdf