Dr. Robert Block

No matter how the Supreme Court rules on the fate of the Affordable Care Act, those of us who care for children will continue advocating for the “ABCs” of health care for all children in the United States: Access to health care services, age-appropriate Benefits, and health care Coverage. The law certainly addresses these goals and provides many more gains for child health, which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) endorsed the legislation two years ago and argued for its constitutionality in three separate briefs to the Supreme Court.

What isn’t being said enough in Washington during the projections and rumors of how and when the Court might rule is what the law has already done, particularly for our nation’s children. For the last two and a half years thanks to the Affordable Care Act, children are no longer denied care just because they have a pre-existing medical condition; young adults can remain on their parents’ insurance until they turn 26; essential preventive care services are provided with no cost-sh