Foster children have the same health care needs as any other children, and in many cases they have even greater needs due to neglect and abuse. Why haven’t measures to make sure children in the system can access the healthcare they need been put in place? That’s what we, Robert and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, are asking today.

Many foster parents are faced with the challenge of finding health care for children who suffer from a wide range of issues, from the more run-of-the-mill scrapes and sore throats to complex issues like chronic illnesses and psychological trauma. Foster children are covered by Medicaid, and since the 2010 Affordable Care Act those foster kids are guaranteed coverage until age 26.

Although foster kids technically have access to health care, the problem is there are a shortage of providers who accept it. This is especially problematic when it comes to mental health providers, which is a serious concern for both foster children and parents because approximately one-half of all kids in the system have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

Children in foster care are twice as likely to be diagnosed with developmental delays and learning disorders. The children of opioid addicts have been entering the system in increasing numbers, and this too has resulted in a increased need for medical and psychological intervention.

Foster parents also report finding coordinating decisions about medical treatment between agencies and the biological parents to be difficult. Unstable lifestyles can also make coordinating healthcare difficult, with paperwork often being lost during frequent moves from foster home to foster home or back and forth between foster care and their biological families.

In a handful of states, a separate program has been implemented that has higher reimbursement rates, making it more attractive to providers. These plans also allow children to keep the same coverage when they are moved to different homes, even if they are in completely different parts of the state. We can only hope more states will move to this model. Health care is one of many issues these already vulnerable children should not be burdened with.