Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
26082401
label
HRC Health Care Correspondence 95 - T
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
26082401
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
HRC Health Care Correspondence 95 - T
citationUrl
collections
Records of the First Lady's Office (Clinton Administration)
Pam Cicetti's Subject Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
26082401
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
otherTitles
42-t-2124771-20140159S-015-016-2015
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
5f4ea2a222f3b992
ocrText
HC CORR 95-T
HRC
DETERMINED TO BE AN
ADMINISTRATIVE MARKING
INITIALS: ADB DATE: 12-9-13
CONFIDENTIAL
&
PERSONAL
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 24. 1995
Fernando M. Trevino, Ph.D., M.P.H.
American Public Health Association
1015 Fifteenth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005
Dear Dr. Trevino:
Thank you for writing about the importance of child safety
interventions. I applaud your efforts to reduce both childhood
injuries and health care costs.
You noted in your letter that neither Aid to Families with
Dependent Children nor Medicaid pay for child safety interven-
tions. As you also noted, some States have chosen to fund child
safety seats. Given the new political climate and severe budget-
ary constraints, it seems unlikely that Congress will pass any
Federal requirement to cover child safety interventions.
Nevertheless, as I am sure you know, the President is
committed to improving child safety and has supported a number of
public-private partnerships to work together on this important
issue. For example, the Department of Transportation's National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is working with
Midas Muffler on "Project Safe Baby. This community-based
partnership with all franchised Midas dealers offers child safety
seats at reduced cost as well as a rebate of that cost upon
return of the seat; 93,000 child safety seats have been sold.
NHTSA also works with Primerica on "Operation Baby Buckle, " a
national public relations program to increase the use of child
safety seats and to raise funds for the purchase of child safety
seats for low-income families. The company acquired permission
to use Hanna Barbera's Flinstone characters for promotional
purposes, and the project has received high visibility in local
communities nationwide; $600,000 has been raised so far. NHTSA
is also working with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau on a
number of programs to increase the use of child safety seats,
such as a collaborative effort to create out-of-home child care
occupant protection guidelines.
The Administration is also working hard to promote the use
of bicycle helmets. The National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control funds a number of bicycle helmet promotion programs.
The Maternal and Child Health Bureau administers block grants to
the States, at least 14 of which are using these funds for
bicycle helmet education and promotion. In California, for example,
Fernando M. Trevino, Ph.D., M.P.H.
March 24, 1995
Page Two
the State Parent Teacher Association and the State Maternal and
Child Health Agency teamed up for a state-wide effort to help
inform children and their parents about a new bike helmet law and
to ensure that children and adolescents from poor families have
access to a helmet.
Thank you again for writing to share your concerns about
child safety interventions and your support for our health care
reform efforts. Again, I applaud the efforts of the American
Public Health Association on behalf of our nation's children. I
hope that we may count on your continued support in the fight for
meaningful health care reform.
Sincerely yours,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
September 21, 1994
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Office of the First Lady
APHA
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
American Public Health Association
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mrs. Clinton:
1015 Fifteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
At its 121st Annual Meeting, the American Public Health
202/789-5600
Association (APHA), representing a combined national affiliate
Fernando M. Treviño, PhD. MPH
membership of 55.000 public health professionals and
Executive Director
community health leaders, adopted a resolution entitled, "Health
Insurance Coverage for Child Safety Interventions." A copy is
enclosed for your information.
Traumatic injuries, including head injuries, oral/facial injuries,
broken limbs, and gunshot wounds, are the leading cause of
death for children and the most frequent reason for hospital
admission of children age 5 and above. National health objectives
for the year 2000 emphasize preventing intentional and
unintentional injuries affecting children, reducing child injury
deaths, and increasing the use of proven child safety
interventions such as child safety seats, bicycle helmets and
home visits for injury prevention.
Despite the fact that many child safety interventions offer health
care savings exceeding their costs, the U.S. Health Care
Financing Administration (HCFA) has refused to allow state
Medicaid programs to reimburse for child safety interventions for
those who cannot afford to buy them. Additionally, other third
party payers, outside of a few progressive health maintenance
organizations, offer no incentives to encourage widespread
adoption of these interventions. Only in North Dakota does Aid to
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) pay for child safety
seats for all eligibles in need, a program which could easily be
implemented nationally.
Childhood injuries and fatalities can be most effectively
prevented through the use of child safety interventions. APHA
suggests the following actions toward this end:
The Administration and the Congress should require Medicaid
and/or AFDC programs to pay for child safety seats, bicycle
helmets, and other proven child safety interventions that will
yield net cost savings to Medicaid;
Subsidization of proven child safety interventions by other
third party payers or encouragement of their use by waiving
co-payment for people injured while using them; and
APHA
Encouragement of parental outreach and education regarding
availability and effective use of child safety interventions.
American Public Health Association
Your support in the implementation of these goals will be greatly
appreciated. APHA is interested in learning of your planned and
1015 Fifteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
current efforts pertaining to health insurance coverage for child
safety interventions.
202/789-5600
Fernando M. Treviño, PhD, MPH
Sincerely,
Executive Director
AMD
Fernando M. Treviño, PhD, MPH
Executive Director