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Improving Access to Care

Far too many children and families are uninsured in Minnesota.

MNAAP supports efforts to ensure coverage and access for every Minnesota child, adolescent, and pregnant woman to comprehensive medical care, behavioral health services, and oral health care. By ensuring coverage and access to health care, injury and disease can be prevented through early identification of disease, injury prevention, and proper immunization.

 

Rural pediatricians meeting2015 Rural Health Conference

Hosted by MNAAP and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Rural pediatricians met on May 28th at a rural Minnesota winery for specialists’ updates, sharing of common concerns and an update on MNAAP activities and policy updates from the legislative session.

Pictured here are Drs. Loken, Meyer, Jewett, Cananaugh, Weidenbacher, and Knutson.

Key issues advanced by rural physicians included:

  • Need for more collaboration with school health and school nurses
  • Physician resiliency- need more help/resources on lifestyle/work expectations/hours with a preference for in person or online support for prevention of burnout
  • E-cigarette education and emphasis that smoking is a pediatric disease (most smokers start as teens); possible models for screening/education/treatment
  • Concern that legislation for vaccine exemption should instead focus on exclusion from school for all unvaccinated children and siblings in outbreak communities
  • Resources such as Reach Out and Read and Imagination Library

 

Why does Medicaid Matter

Updated 5/12/14
Check out the new fact sheet on Medicaid in Minnesota by AAP

 

MNAAP Launches Two New Projects to Improve Access to Care

Updated 5/12/14

New Learning Collaborative Supports MN Clinics Serving Kids in Foster Care

The health needs of Minnesota children/teens in foster care are significant; many wrestle with developmental delays and learning disabilities, thoughts of suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, tobacco or drug use, unwanted pregnancies/STDs and obesity. For these reasons, MNAAP will sponsor a 7-month learning collaborative for MN clinicians interested in learning best practices and applying new strategies to improve care delivery and coordination for patients placed in out-of-home care.

Physician-led workshops will focus on educational health, develop behavioral health, behavioral health, oral health, and physical health and may qualify for CME. Participation is free and open to MDs, NPs, and PAs in Minnesota. Clinics in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties are strongly encouraged to participate. A small stipend is available to participate in clinics.

For more info, contact Katherine Cairns at cairns@mnaap.org or Amelia Burgess, MD at amelia.burgess@parknicollet.org

 

Connecting with Patients Through Telemedicine and/or Social Media

MNAAP received a grant from AAP to improve the use of health communications/health information technology in pediatric clinics.

  • Telemedicine toolkit for pediatric clinics
  • Social media toolkit for pediatric clinics

August 2014 telemedicine presentations: hosted by Twin Cities Medical Society and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of MN audio | slides

Insuring children: what’s covered under the ACA?

Pediatric services required by the ACA (including Bright Futures preventive services, ACIP-recommended immunization services, and the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) items and services recommendations with a rating of ‘A’ or ‘B’) must be included in Minnesota’s Essential Health Benefits (EHB) package. State mandates enacted on or before December 31, 2011, are also considered part of the EHB package, however, the cost of state mandates enacted after that date must be borne by states.

 

For Medicaid patients, see Minnesota Child and Teen Checkups (C&TC) Schedule of Age-Related Screening Standards – Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment

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