By Charles Barone
As a pediatrician, I obviously love children and want them to succeed. To do that, they have to be healthy and whole.
That is why I am so worried today. The Michigan Senate, specifically Republican members of the Senate, has in recent months proposed hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to early childhood programs in the state in order to balance the budget.
No one envies the Legislature's job, of course. Lawmakers have to trim an incredible $1.2 billion from the budget.
But as things stand now more than $200 million has been cut from early childhood programs that help children ages 0-5 and their parents, including $25 million to pediatric Medicaid providers.
Cynics may think that I am merely griping about money on behalf of my colleagues, but that is not the case at all. There are real human consequences to these cuts.
These cuts will reduce access to high-quality care for many children by making it difficult for physicians to add children to their practices.
Right now, 54 percent of Michigan newborns are on Medicaid. Currently, Medicaid payments to pediatric practices, in most cases, do not cover the costs of providing care, and with pediatricians now having a disproportionate share of Medicaid patients compared with other primary care specialties, many practices may not survive.
Others will need to limit participation with Medicaid to keep their doors open, forcing children with Medicaid to seek costlier care in the emergency room, and increasing the hospital admission rate for Medicaid patients, costing taxpayers even more.
I also worry that fewer specialists will be able or willing to take referrals of young patients from me and other pediatricians. What then?
What legislators have proposed will shred the safety net in Michigan, leaving children unprepared to succeed in school. Research clearly shows that children who do not get off to a good start in school often continue to do poorly. Many eventually end up in our criminal justice system or on welfare, which costs the state millions annually.
It is sad that Michigan is cutting early childhood programs just as their importance is being recognized nationally. President Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, for instance, released a report this month that said a key component to building a stronger economy tomorrow is starting out on the right foot with a high-quality early education system. Access to quality health care is a large part of that system.
There's an old saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
And so it is with Michigan's children. We can pay a little now and head off a host of costly problems, or we can pay a lot more later to fix those problems once they inevitably occur.
That seems like an easy choice to me.
About the author: Dr. Charles Barone is president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Chairman of Pediatrics for Henry Ford Medical Group
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