February 15, 2010

Every year as the legislative session approaches, I sense an urgency to be present, to be “in the mix”, to advocate for those who do not have a vote at the capitol – children.

Given all the debates nationally regarding health care reform, this
urgency looms even more for me this year. Wikipedia defines advocacy as “the pursuit of influencing outcomes — including public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions that directly affect people’s current lives.”

On some level, the definition might seem a bit overwhelming. Yet, for most pediatricians, advocacy is always at the core of what we do on a daily basis.

It begins with personal relationships with patients and families, speaking out on your patients’ behalf when working with schools, insurers, and other providers. It involves a guiding principle improving the health and well-being of a child.

This individual advocacy easily extends to a larger community of children. Community advocacy relies on the formation of partnerships and coalitions to achieve improvement in child well being. And this community advocacy can lead to state advocacy, involving multiple communities and many times evolving into legislative advocacy. The state legislature decides who has access to care —eligibility for public programs, public health policy, funding for early childhood education / public schools and what our health care system will look like in the future.

In considering MN-AAP’s state legislative priorities, the board considered carefully all aspects of advocacy important to members– individual, community, state and national. Two priorities quickly rose to the top: access to care and obesity prevention.

Clearly with national health care reform debates, access to healthcare is on the minds of most families and providers alike. The MN-AAP supports efforts to ensure that every Minnesota child, adolescent, and pregnant woman has access to comprehensive medical care, mental health services, oral health care and access to an appropriate medical home.

Recognizing 70 percent of children and adolescents do not receive needed mental health services, the MN-AAP supports efforts to ensure that children in Minnesota have access to the mental health services they need to succeed.

Finally the MN-AAP supports efforts to address workforce shortages and access to providers of care for infants, children and adolescents, including efforts which address a shortage of pediatric sub-specialists statewide and decreasing reimbursements for preventive health services, which jeopardize access to care in some portions of the state.

Given more than 15 percent of children ages 6 to 18 are obese, advocacy for obesity prevention and reduction efforts in the state is vital to improving the health of all children.

On March 3rd, pediatric providers will gather for the annual pediatric day at the capitol. I encourage you to join fellow child advocates. Legislators rely on personal stories provided by experts to guide their decision-making process – they welcome and request such input. The more voices present, the potential for more impact.

Most importantly, there are no children in the legislature; they rely on us as child advocates to promote the very future of their well-being.

Thank you in advance for advocating.

Anne Edwards, M.D., F.A.A.P.
edwar046@tc.umn.edu