“A generation left behind?”

There have been several attempts to fix the ER problem over the years. I wont go into all of them, but telemedicine done right (i.e. purpose built, with features designed for this cohort) has clear potential if aligned with outcomes.

Thus most vendors and plans have not made pediatric telemedicine a priority because they perceive utilization to be low.

It’s much harder for a doctor to get the information they need to diagnose conditions from them than it is for adult patients.

For years we've known that having the ER as a pediatric care provider for low-income families is not cost-effective.

Unfortunately, today, the pediatric needs of the Medicaid population have been largely left behind.

There are 74mm children in the US, which includes 45mm in low-income families covered by Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This means that children under the age of 18 make up over roughly 50% of all Medicaid recipients nationwide.