Past Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition chair and board member Dr. Thomas Chiu and current board member Dr. Mark L. Hudak are two of the lead authors of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Medicaid Policy Statement published April 1.

The statement is a revision of the previous Medicaid Policy Statement that was written in 2005, before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law in 2010 and was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012. It covers opportunities for state Medicaid programs to adhere to the act.

Thirty-nine percent of children in the United States are insured by Medicaid. The AAP policy recommends Medicaid programs focus on benefit coverage, quality and managed care, financing and payment, patient eligibility, outreach and enrollment.