Pediatric Partners: When Families Are Stronger Financially, They’re Healthier, Too

George Dalembert, MD, MSHP George Dalembert, MD, MSHP, is a primary care pediatrician in the CHOP Care Network, Director of the CHOP Medical Financial Partnership, Associate Director of the Center for Health Equity, and a Faculty Scholar at the CHOP PolicyLab.

Does your pediatric practice or hospital help families get on a stronger financial footing? If not, you may be missing an opportunity to improve the health of your patients today—and for generations to come.

Before you begin to think, “One more thing to add to an already overloaded primary care pediatrician’s to-do list,” hear me out.

The wealth gap many of our patient families experience in underserved areas of the country, particularly minoritized families, is harming the children we’re trying to help. Primarily because of structural racism, the median net worth of a White family in the United States in 2019 was $188,200, compared to just $24,100 for a Black family, according to the Federal Reserve. Greater wealth is associated with a reduced likelihood of early death, lower rates of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and better overall functional status over a person’s lifetime.

Many institutions have begun to address some social determinants of health, such as food insecurity and housing issues, with screenings and connecting families to community resources (or creating your own resources). Meeting immediate needs is a necessary first step.

Health systems, which are often among a community’s largest employers and purchasers of goods and services, can take the next step toward closing the wealth gap. There are some approaches health systems can take:

• Reduce expenses by connecting staff and patients to public benefits they are eligible for, better allowing families to cover basic needs
• Maximize income by providing employees with a living wage and offering free tax preparation services for employees and patients so they don’t miss out on potentially thousands of dollars in tax credits
• Decreasing debt/increasing savings by connecting Black staff and patients to long-term investment products such as Child Development Accounts and educational 529 plans, or make matching 401K/403B contributions to all employees
• Source goods and services intentionally from Black- and minority-owned businesses, especially ones in their area, to help build local wealth

At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, we are in our 5th year of offering a Medical Financial Partnership, which in collaboration with community partners provides families and staff (who earn less than about $60000) free tax preparation and free financial counseling at one of our community primary care centers. Families have gained an average of $3840 through free, on-site financial counseling and tax return prep services.

Our patient families’ financial wellness matters for their health, which means it needs to matter to us and our institutions.