October 21, 2014 — Peter Grollman, Michele Hillman, MSN, RN-CCM, and Nikki Graham traveled to Washington, DC, to speak with Congressional staffers to garner support for H.R. 4930 — Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2014 or the “ACE Kids Act.”

Introduced in June by U.S. Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX) and Kathy Castor (D-FL), it is bipartisan legislation to improve care for children with medical complexity who are enrolled in Medicaid. In the proposal, initiated by children’s hospitals across the nation along with the Children’s Hospital Association, a regional system of healthcare delivery is proposed to employ quality standards and coordinate care, which in turn should lead to cost savings.

The networks would include the full range of acute, post-acute and primary care providers, with children’s hospitals as anchors, and a focus on outpatient care to ensure children get the care they need in the most appropriate settings closest to home, while reducing hospitalizations, unnecessary procedures and emergency room visits. Please refer to the Children’s Hospital Association’s Medicaid Reform page for more information.

The CHOP contingent met with staffers from the following House offices to discuss the possibility of signing on as co-sponsors: U.S. Reps. Pat Meehan (R-PA), Robert “Bob” Brady (D-PA), Thomas Marino (R-PA), Donald Payne (D-NJ) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House majority leader. Thus far, the legislation has more than 60 cosponsors.