Medicaid is a lifeline for the health and academic success of American children. Children have the highest poverty rate of any age group and Medicaid covers nearly half of all American children. GOP cuts to Medicaid would jeopardize the physical, mental, and academic well-being of vulnerable children including children with special needs, foster youth, and children of color. Without Medicaid, millions of children will be more likely to suffer from bad health, unable to get the help they need in school, trapped in a cycle of poverty, and denied the American dream.
Credit: Georgetown CCF
- Nearly Half of American Children Are Enrolled In Medicaid. Approximately 31.5 million children in the United States are enrolled in Medicaid. In school districts across the country, as many as 9 in 10 children are covered by Medicaid. See here for more information on the percentage of children in your school district covered by Medicaid.
- Medicaid Covers The Tools Children Need To Succeed In School. Medicaid’s Early Periodic Screening Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit gives children under 21 years old access to comprehensive and preventive health services, such as yearly physicals, hearing, vision, and dental screenings, and physical, mental, and developmental disability treatments. The benefit also helps students gain access to medical supplies, such as hearing aids, glasses, and assistive technology, to help them succeed in school.
- Medicaid Is Crucial For Students With Disabilities. Medicaid provides critical funding for schools to get equipment, services, and personnel that students with Individualized Education Plans require to succeed, from speech therapy to personal aides to the technology that helps blind and deaf students communicate. Medicaid funding ensures schools can provide the wide range of services needed to educate students with disabilities and allows them to comply with Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirements despite their strained budgets.
- Medicaid Is Essential To Combat America’s Youth Mental Health Crisis. Nearly 1 in 5 children in the United States struggle with a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder. Medicaid provides 31 million children with the help that they need by requiring states to cover mental health screenings as part of the EPSDT benefit. When asked why they missed class, 16 percent of high school students cited anxiety, and another 12 percent listed sadness and depression, according to a fall 2023 survey. Medicaid is supporting efforts to provide mental health support and helping them show up to school feeling their best.
- Medicaid Sets Children Up For Success. Children who are eligible for Medicaid do better in school, miss fewer school days, and are more likely to finish high school, attend college, and graduate from college. Medicaid for children also has a positive impact on employment and earnings later in life. According to a 2021 NBER analysis, for each additional year of Medicaid eligibility as a child, adults by age 28 had higher earnings and made $533 additional cumulative tax payments due to their higher incomes.
- Medicaid Is A Lifeline For Rural Children. Children in rural areas rely on Medicaid for school-based care when hospitals or doctors’ offices may be far away. Medicaid allows rural schools to provide on-site nurses, access to mental health therapists, and other telehealth options. Children are more than six times more likely to access health care at school.
