To the question of whether healthcare is a human right, a privilege or something in between, the results of this month’s reader survey are decidedly, well, undecided. So far, 77% of respondents are willing to pay at least 1% more in taxes if it would mean ensuring health coverage for all Americans. At the same time, only about half agree that the government should provide Medicaid (52%) or Medicare (51%), and even fewer are sold on the idea of single-payer coverage (42%).
Pose that same question to the Healthier Kids Foundation Santa Clara County, and the answer is clear: “We believe that healthcare is a basic human right.”
I had the privilege to keynote the organization’s 8th annual symposium last week, held at Microsoft Corporation. The topic: the status of kids’ health in Santa Clara County and what current data tells us about how to improve the well-being of all children.
I was invited by the organization’s dynamic, visionary and highly effective CEO, Kathleen King, the former mayor of Saratoga, California. Throughout her 30-year career, she has delivered major civic, health, and technology initiatives, and believes all children deserve a healthy start to life.
More than 300 symposium attendees – many of them health care professionals, elected officials and community workers – embraced her vision.
In my remarks, I emphasized the significant impact education and healthcare have on the first five years of a child’s life. Studies show this rapid developmental period affects not only the child’s future, it can even impact the lives of their future children. Many of the problems that arise during this age can be avoided with proper prevention, including: vaccinations, dental care and, vision/hearing screening. Success in these areas has a powerful impact on a child’s chances of success in school, work and family.
Referencing several studies from my book Mistreated, I noted how context has the power to alter human perception and change behavior, often in negative ways that prove bad for our health. But creating a positive context early in childhood can lead to even greater positive outcomes throughout life. Nowhere is this truer than in healthcare. The opportunity to change a child’s context – by making it “normal” to visit the doctor, to embrace healthy lifestyle choices, and to ask for help when something’s wrong – is one we our nation can’t afford to miss.
Thankfully, the Healthier Kids Foundation (HKF) understands this concept well. I applaud the foundation for its innovative programs in this area. For more than a dozen years, the organization has been advancing the Healthy Kids program and the Children’s Health Initiative, which together have significantly expanded children’s health coverage. The children in Santa Clara County now have the highest rate of health coverage of all of California’s 58 counties.
About HKF
Founded in 2000, the Healthier Kids Foundation works side-by-side with community-based organizations, public entities and public schools to focus on prevention and wellness, providing health screening (hearing, oral health, and vision) to low-income children, connecting them to the appropriate health services based on the screening results, and helping enroll children in the appropriate program for which they are eligible. They assist tens of thousands of children each year, and as a result, 98% of children in Santa Clara County have some type of health coverage. The programs sponsored by the Healthier Kids Foundation are inspirational and successful. The foundation and its programs are a model for the nation.
Dr. Robert Pearl is the former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, the nation’s largest physician group. He’s the bestselling author of “Mistreated: Why We Think We’re Getting Good Health Care–And Why We’re Usually Wrong” and a Stanford University professor. Follow him on Twitter @RobertPearlMD.
