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 Food and Drug Administration July 10 approved Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine for children under 12 with at least one underlying condition that…
Headline
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services July 10 rescinded a policy that extended certain federal public benefits to immigrants lacking permanent legal…
Headline
The AHA July 2 expressed support for the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (H.R. 3890), bipartisan legislation that would add 14,000 Medicare-funded…
Headline
The House July 3 voted 218-214 to pass the final version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), which enacts many of President Trump’s legislative…
Headline
Jon Ulven, Ph.D., behavioral health psychologist and chair of adult psychology at Sanford Health, details the fragile behavioral health landscape in rural…
Headline
The Senate narrowly passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) on July 1 by a 50-50 tally, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.…