Breaking the Link Between Special Health Care Needs and Financial Hardship

Having health insurance doesn’t automatically protect families of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) from financial hardship. In the first edition of Breaking the Link, produced in 2009, the Catalyst Center identified three pathways that lead to financial hardship and medical debt, with examples from the lives of real families. In the second edition, produced in 2017, we revisit the impact that health care financing and coverage gaps have on the lives of real families and highlight innovative policy solutions that can improve the system of care for CYSHCN.

Slides from the accompanying webinar that took place on April 26, 2017 are also available.

Designing Evaluation Studies of Care Coordination Outcomes for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs

Nationwide, there is growing interest in the use of care coordination as an integral component of comprehensive, quality care provided within the medical home model for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). A broad range of stakeholders – family members, advocates, state Title V Children with Special Health Care Needs program staff, health insurers, and providers – have expressed a need to the Catalyst Center to be able to evaluate the benefits of investing in care coordination. The purpose of this policy brief is to help provide some guidance in thinking through the requirements for doing so.

Relief Funds: A Safety Net for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs

Relief Funds pay for services families incur for their children and youth with special health care needs/disabilities that are not covered by private insurance, Medicaid, or any other public or private programs. Relief Funds function as a payer of last resort for families who struggle financially to meet the health care needs of their children and can help relief family financial hardship.