Solomon Center white paper urges Connecticut to expand Medicaid coverage, training for pediatric palliative care

A white paper presented to the Solomon Center Pediatric Palliative Care Workgroup on Oct. 25 urged Connecticut to expand access to pediatric palliative care by changing how the state structures Medicaid (Husky) benefits and by boosting training for non‑specialist frontline clinicians.

The white paper’s author, Elle (Solomon Center staff and white paper author), told the group the paper identified “two major barriers of access in Connecticut today,” naming insurance coverage through Medicaid/Husky and a “lack of training, particularly for frontline non‑specialist clinicians.”

The paper’s primary recommendation for near‑term action is a change to Connecticut’s Medicaid approach. The author said one feasible route is a state plan amendment to explicitly cover palliative care under the Medicaid children’s benefit known as EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment). That would avoid tying palliative services to hospice’s six‑month terminal‑prognosis requirement, the paper argues, and would make palliative services available to children with special health care needs regardless of hospice eligibility.

The presenter said Connecticut currently has about 300,000 children enrolled in Husky and…