Health care

Health care is vital for detecting and managing potential health complications and can set the foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing outcomes. Access to medical care (including through access to health insurance) helps prevent adverse outcomes, such as low birthweight and developmental delays, which can have significant long-term impacts on a child’s physical, cognitive, and emotional wellbeing.

Featured Resources

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2023 Roadmap: Access to Health Insurance and Prenatal Care

Browse state-level data on health insurance coverage and adequate prenatal care, alongside other outcome measures, to track the overall health and wellbeing of infants, toddlers, and their parents.

Home page roadmap feature

2023 Roadmap Profile: Expanded Income Eligibility for Health Insurance

States can employ a number of strategies to increase health insurance coverage for their residents, and the most widely studied strategy is the expansion of Medicaid eligibility.

perinatal-checklist

State Policy Lever Checklist: Access to Perinatal Health Insurance

This State Policy Lever Checklist includes a list of policy considerations for state leaders to help maximize the effectiveness of expanding income eligibility for health insurance.

Related Resources

2024 Prenatal-to-3 Legislative Highlights

With most legislatures adjourned for the year, we recap the 2024 action on state policies to support children and families. So far this year, lawmakers throughout the country debated—and many passed—legislation that aligns with four key components of the prenatal-to-3 system of care.
Colorado legislature

June Update: Prenatal-to-3 State Legislative Trends

Though most legislative sessions have adjourned, lawmakers and advocates across the country continue to advance efforts to support children and families. A lot can happen at the tail end of a legislative session, as Colorado

State Policies to Promote Equity in Healthy Perinatal Outcomes: A Summary of the Evidence 

Barriers to health care, high-quality health insurance, and parental leave work together to leave families and children vulnerable during the perinatal period. These barriers can shape life-long outcomes, particularly for children from historically marginalized groups.

The State Policy Implications of the New Federal Child Care Rule 

In late February, the federal government released a final rule that makes regulatory changes to the Child Care and Development Fund. The rule requires action from many states to ensure child care is affordable and

How to Identify Rigorous Research for Evidence-Based Policymaking

State lawmakers face difficult choices about how to use scarce public resources. To ensure that investments have a big impact on young children, lawmakers often want to know—which policies actually work? The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact

Brief: The research base to inform evidence-based policymaking continues to grow.

This year, the Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap—a guide for state leaders on the most effective investments to ensure all children thrive from the start, based on the most rigorous evidence available—has expanded. The Roadmap policies
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