Economic Club’s 2018 Medical Panel on the future of medicine.

Last week I had the opportunity to talk with David Rubenstein as part of the Economic Club’s 2018 Medical Panel on the future of medicine. It was a super opportunity to bring pediatric health care and children’s needs into the conversation and to hear the perspectives of my fellow panelists Dr. Craig Thompson of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Dr. Paul Rothman of Johns Hopkins Medicine.

My role as CEO of a top ten children’s hospital gives me a different outlook in many areas including the Affordable Care Act. While the ACA isn’t perfect, for children and families, overall, it was a big plus. Not that long ago, a child with a serious illness could expect to struggle to find affordable health insurance for the rest of his life. But when ACA removed the ability for insurers to base coverage decisions on preexisting conditions, many families with sick kids breathed a sigh of relief. For our older patients, the ability to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26 encourages them to stay healthier as they become adults, especially while they are in college and starting their careers. And removing lifetime caps on coverage was a major win for the kids and families we serve. A child with complex medical issues requiring specialized care could run through a cap of even $1 million quickly and easily, and be left paying out of pocket for years in the future.

But, there is much more to be done when it comes to children’s health and well-being. We need to invest more, earlier in life, to get the outcomes we want later in life. It’s important to diagnose early, maintain consistent access to care, and make sure every kid who needs support for conditions like asthma or mental health concerns can get that help when they need it. Chronic conditions cost this country more than $1 trillion dollars each year. If more of them were identified early through routine primary care in childhood, imagine the cost savings in urgent or emergency care visits down the line.

The way I see it, investing in kids is the smart, cost effective route. A commitment to establishing relationships with children and their families, and delivering care where they need it by making it accessible, is the best way to keep health care costs down long term, especially as kids grow into adults.