Health
We all win when kids get the care they need. When an asthmatic child can get regular treatment, she is less likely to need emergency room care for an attack. That helps to keep her in school and her parents at work, and it helps taxpayers avoid the high cost of emergency care. First Focus believes that reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), strengthening Healthy Start, and combating childhood obesity are critical steps to improving children’s health.
¨ State Children’s Health Insurance Program: To get reliable health care, kids need reliable health coverage. The State Children's Health Insuracne Program (SCHIP), in partnership with Medicaid, has cut the number of uninsured children by almost a third since 1997. But there are still nine million American kids without coverage. First Focus urges Congress to protect and expand SCHIP. More
¨ Childhood Obesity: More than one in three American children and adolescents is either obese or at risk of becoming obese. First Focus believes we can and must combat what the federal Institute of Medicine has called a “public health crisis." More
¨ Healthy Start: Healthy Start seeks to reduce infant mortality and improve early childhood health. Healthy Start projects have proven successful, but real challenges remain – for example, infant mortality in the U.S. actually increased in 2002. With Healthy Start resources already stretched thin, it is essential that funding for Healthy Start be increased to give the program the necessary resources to maintain current services and reach more pregnant women and newborns nationwide. More
