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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, J.D., called pediatricians the “insurgents of the medical profession” and said he wants to be their partner.
During his plenary address Tuesday at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition, Becerra touched on HHS efforts to improve children’s health in areas like nutrition, mental health and reproductive health care. He also applauded the AAP’s new policy statement calling for access to health care coverage from birth.
“At HHS, we want to be partners with you on all of these things because at the end of the day, my suspicion is that what you’re doing we want to replicate,” he said. “… We want to be the wind underneath your wings on that because I suspect you know you’re not just treating the day-to-day health of a child. You’re nurturing the next leaders of this country.”
Becerra quoted abolitionist Frederick Douglass saying, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
“At HHS, we are with you when it comes to moving towards a system of health care that no longer just thinks about treating illness but about promoting wellness from the very beginning,” Becerra said. “We want to make it so our wellness care system can treat everyone.”
In an effort to do that, he said HHS is partnering with states to use Medicaid dollars for nutrition programs.
“I hope each and every one of you believes that food is medicine because that’s what we’re going to start practicing at HHS,” Becerra said.
He also pointed to an initiative allowing schools to receive Medicaid funding for providing health care services, including mental and behavioral health treatment.
“We’re going to keep pushing on behavioral health, and we’re not going to leave out any child including our LGBTQ children who we know are the most susceptible to … the ideation of suicide,” Becerra said.
He also encouraged pediatricians to make their patients aware of their reproductive health rights.
“We need to make sure our children are fully aware about their health, and as they’re growing and changing into young adults, we need to make sure they’re aware of what that means for themselves, for their bodies and their rights,” he said.
Becerra ended on a note of gratitude.
“Thank you for going into a profession where you knew you wouldn’t make as much money as your peers who graduated with you,” he said. “Thank you for putting up with everything a parent throws at you. Thank you for always loving those kids who sometimes are not loved everywhere else. Thank you for being insurgents, for believing. We need you. HHS needs you. And we’re with you.”
