All but lost among the grandstanding and noise of congressional politics are some nuggets of good work. The ACE Kids Act, backed by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, appears to be one such example.
The Advanced Care for Exceptional Kids Act is intended to help with the specific problems of caring for children with complex medical conditions. In reporting on the bill, Denver’s 9NEWS focused on 8-year-old Everett Ediger, a Denver boy with spina bifida, which it described as “a birth defect of the brain, spine and spinal cord.” Because of his condition, Ediger has to see a pediatrician, a neurosurgeon, a urologist, an orthopedic surgeon and a physical therapist.
Navigating all of that would be difficult enough, but it is complicated by the fact that it also means dealing with Medicaid. And that is an issue, not only for the families of the kids involved but for society, as well.
As Bennet said, “We’ve got a group of kids that are 6 percent of the population, and they represent about 40 percent of all the costs in Medicaid every single year.”
The ACE Kids Act would rework how hospitals get paid by Medicaid and try to make caring for kids with complex medical issues consistent across the country. At present, going from one state to another essentially means starting over with another system and another set of rules and procedures. That is true even if a particular kind of care is only available in another locale.
Another aim of the bill is to make care more efficient and less costly, in part by encouraging more outpatient care. The thinking is that there could be a 20 percent reduction in hospitalizations and 40 percent fewer emergency-room visits. Supporters say the bill could save Medicaid $13 billion in its first 10 years.
The ACE Kids Act came about after 10 chief executives of the largest children’s hospitals got together three years ago. Their goal was to standardize care for kids with complex medical issues and to come up with a better financial model for Medicaid.
Among them was Jim Shmerling, CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado Health System. As he put it, “We had financial experts and physician experts coming together. We vetted with White House policy staff and congressional leadership. We went to Medicaid offices and talked to some of their leadership about the concept and got great feedback.”
Will the ACE Kids Act revolutionize Medicaid or how kids with complex medical issues are cared for? Will it at least make things better? Will it even become law? It is too soon to know any of that.
But the bill has been introduced in both houses of Congress and has bipartisan support. Last month, the Senate voted on an amendment offered by Bennet, a Democrat, and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to advance the bill. The amendment passed 96-0.
That is hopeful. But the ACE Kids Act also shows that beyond the circus acts Washington regularly offers, there are serious people of both parties who are trying to do good work. It is a healthy reminder.
