AHA today joined 27 other organizations that serve the mental, emotional and behavioral health of children in urging Congress to strengthen the pediatric mental health delivery system and infrastructure.  
 
“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s mental health highlight the nation’s acute shortage of developmentally and culturally appropriate mental health services and the need to reinforce and expand the pediatric mental health delivery system and infrastructure,” the organizations wrote. “Congress must act now to promote access to necessary mental health care for children and adolescents by increasing immediate and long-term investments in the pediatric health care safety net, promoting comprehensive, integrated care, and building new and different national capacity to support care across the continuum.” 
 
The letter details a number of policy recommendations to address increased mental health needs for children, including bolstering the Medicaid program, extending telehealth capabilities, better care coordination and integration, promoting care in the appropriate setting and supporting the pediatric mental health workforce.
 

Related News Articles

Headline
The AHA provided a statement of record to the Senate Special Committee on Aging for a hearing Oct. 8 on the pharmaceutical and medical device supply chains.…
Headline
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will update its immunization schedules for the COVID-19 and chickenpox vaccines to adopt recent recommendations…
Headline
The federal government shutdown will continue as the Senate Oct. 3 failed to adopt a government funding deal. The latest attempt to pass the House-passed…
Headline
The federal government shut down Oct. 1 following a failed Senate vote on the House-passed continuing resolution to fund the government by midnight Sept. 30.…
Headline
The Food and Drug Administration today issued a request for public comment on a series of questions regarding current approaches to evaluating artificial…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 29 asked the Trump administration to provide exemptions for health care personnel from the proclamation issued Sept. 19 announcing changes to the…