Media Contact:
Gina Davis, gdavis@zerotothree.org, 202-864-2934
Morgan Brill, mbrill@westendstrategy.com, 845-596-5328
WASHINGTON—ZERO TO THREE, a leading national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life, condemned a reported agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security that provides Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials with access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees. This agreement will further prevent families from accessing essential care. In a statement, Melissa Boteach, chief policy officer at ZERO TO THREE, stressed the importance of ensuring access to Medicaid for babies and toddlers:
“Every baby deserves access to critical, often lifesaving, care. By providing ICE with access to the personal health data of millions through Medicaid, this policy will have a chilling effect on families across the nation—causing fear and uncertainty and preventing parents from getting the health care they and their children need. This action penalizes families for wanting their child to be healthy or bringing their child to the hospital in an emergency. Families are being forced to make the unthinkable decision between their child’s health and the safety and unity of their family.”
Medicaid ensures millions of children receive essential care, including prenatal care, screenings, sick and well-child visits, dental care and vaccines. Babies who have access to Medicaid have better health outcomes as adults, including better health, educational attainment and higher earnings. And caregivers with Medicaid are healthier and better able to care for their children.
Medicaid is the largest source of health insurance for children in families with low income, including 81% of children under 6 years old living in poverty. It provides health care for 44% of babies and young children in America, finances over 42% of all US births, and covers nearly half of all children with special health care needs.
“This unprecedented breach of families’ medical privacy undermines the health, safety, and potential of babies and toddlers—and ultimately, the future of our country,” said Boteach.
Rahil Briggs, PsyD, national director of ZERO TO THREE’s HealthySteps, a pediatric primary care program, echoed the damage to health and safety inflicted by this move:
“This decision is a violation of trust for millions of people, including health professionals. For hundreds of years, health care has been based on trust and privacy between providers and patients. This action forces health care providers into an impossible situation and undermines their charge to protect the health and safety of their patients. We know that many families—including those who are here legally—have already made the gut-wrenching decision to avoid visiting their child’s doctor because the risk is too high. And while we won’t know the full extent of the damage caused by this policy for years to come, we know that it will be monumental.”
