Opinion: Babies’ health hangs in the balance this budget season

Right now, New York's Legislature has the opportunity to make a smart investment that will have long-term benefits for families and the bottom line. Families with young children across New York face serious challenges, including developmental and early learning delays, behavioral concerns, postpartum depression, and other major stressors. These factors play an enormous role in a child’s health and development and, if not addressed early, they can have long-lasting impacts – for children, their families, and our communities. 

In many ways, New York has been a leader in supporting children and families, but we need to do more to ensure all children are set up for success and that all families have the support they want and deserve. As a health policy expert, I hear about that need every day from early childhood health professionals. 

That’s exactly what HealthySteps, a program of ZERO TO THREE, provides for more than 140,000 children and their families in New York. Using an innovative, team-based approach to pediatric primary care, HealthySteps treats the whole family as the patient, not just the child in isolation. Whether it means navigating complex referrals to early intervention specialists, connecting families with local resources that help them provide nutritious meals for their child, or just offering a listening ear or parenting guidance to a new mom with nowhere else to go, HealthySteps is there to support positive outcomes for children and their families. 

For one young mom, immediate support from this program was life-altering. During a routine visit to the pediatrician, she shared her experience with domestic violence and difficulty obtaining food, clothing, and housing. The team sprang into action, working with the mom to develop a safety plan and get her safe housing, reliable transportation, and clothes and food for her child. They also connected her with a local domestic violence agency that was able to provide legal guidance for her to obtain a restraining order against her perpetrator and secure sole custody of her children. Now, the family is thriving and hopeful about the future. The mom is enrolled in a medical coding class, working with a therapist, and feels hopeful and excited about the future. 

This network of support across the state is made possible through critical start-up funding from the state Office of Mental Health to help more pediatric practices adopt the HealthySteps approach. Still, this funding is not permanent, which means that New York families do not have guaranteed access to long-term support. During this budget cycle, our state Legislature has the opportunity to better invest in our infants and toddlers. The current budget proposal, which my colleagues and I urge New York to implement, would provide an enhanced Medicaid payment of just $25 for well-child and sick visit claims for children ages 0-3 at practices with HealthySteps, providing a dedicated funding stream that would help solidify these investments to ensure New York’s babies, young children, and families have access to preventative supports and services they need for years to come. 

Not only is this the right investment, it’s a smart one. According to an analysis from Manatt Health, over the course of just one year, for every dollar New York spends on HealthySteps, the state realizes an estimated $1.47 in savings across state agencies. In the long-term, the program has a nearly 700% return on investment – meaning investing in HealthySteps will improve outcomes for young children and their caregivers while also supporting New York’s budgetary goals. 

The investments we are calling for would not only improve babies' and toddlers' developmental trajectories but also provide immediate and long-term cross-sector cost savings. It’s rare that a program aimed at making New York the safest and most supportive place in the nation to deliver and raise a baby will also deliver cost savings. It is time for the legislature to step up and invest in New Yorkers.