La lista de verificación para el regreso a clases de los padres en Arizona podría incluir una doble comprobación para asegurar que sus hijos siguen teniendo seguro médico.

Arizona fue uno de los primeros estados en empezar a comprobar el estado de elegibilidad de todas las personas que recibían cobertura de Medicaid cuando terminó la emergencia de salud pública de la pandemia.

El Director de Políticas de Salud de Children's Action Alliance, Matt Jewett, afirma que desde abril la inscripción en Medicaid en Arizona ya ha disminuido en varios cientos de miles, lo que califica de "preocupante".

Jewett dice que los niños están entre los que están siendo dados de baja de la cobertura, muchos por razones tan simples como errores de archivo, o porque las familias no actualizaron su información de contacto, y conseguir un nuevo seguro puede ser un desafío.

"Gran parte de la población que estamos viendo son esos niños que están superando la edad de KidsCare," señala Jewett, "también estamos viendo personas en zonas rurales que pueden no tener tantas organizaciones que presten ayuda. También estamos viendo que en las zonas tribales, hay mucha gente en situación de riesgo."

Jewett añade que el programa estatal de Medicaid para niños, llamado KidsCare, aumentará la elegibilidad de ingresos de 200% del Nivel Federal de Pobreza, a 225% este otoño. Eso debería significar que un adicional de 12,000 niños podrían inscribirse para la cobertura.

Joan Alker, del Centro para Niños y Familias de la Universidad de Georgetown, dice que es preocupante que muchas de las pérdidas de Medicaid no se deban a que un estado determine que alguien no es elegible, sino a que muchos no han pasado por el proceso de renovación.

Ella dice que si su hijo ha perdido la cobertura de Medicaid, hay una buena probabilidad de que siga siendo elegible.

"Nos encontramos en una situación histórica sin precedentes, en la que los estados, que por lo general carecen de personal suficiente, tienen que procesar las comprobaciones de elegibilidad de todos los que participan en el programa," asegura Alker. "Y eso incluye a la mitad de los niños del país, así que es una tarea enorme."

Alker afirma que las brechas en la cobertura son un problema, sin importar cuánto duren. Añade que, aunque la cobertura de los niños no es cara, son lo que ella denomina "usuarios regulares de atención", y no quiere que las familias se presenten en una farmacia o consultorio médico y sean rechazadas.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a recent study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about life prospects.

The study, published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence found students who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about both academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.

Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.

"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."

Maryland requires county boards of education to track and report on bullying. This year's report showed there were more than 7,800 incidences of bullying reported during the 2022-23 school year, an increase of 25% over the year prior.

Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Earlier research showed relational victimization had negative effects on elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also an educational priority.

"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence based large scale school interventions for bullying."

Maryland's State Department of Education adopted a model policy to address bullying, harassment and intimidation in 2009 and has updated it in the years since. Last year the department began offering an online introduction to bullying prevention for educators.


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October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a new study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about their future.

Researchers found adolescents who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.

Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.

"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."

The study began with more than 300 9th graders at 38 different high schools across Michigan. Students completed online surveys multiple times per year over three years.

Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Prior research established relational victimization affected elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also as an educational priority.

"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti-bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence-based large-scale school interventions for bullying."

She added it is important to have strong communication between researchers, policymakers and administrators to address bullying so it is not too burdensome for schools and is backed by what researchers have learned.

The biannual Pro-Kid Scorecard from the Children Now Action Fund was released today.

In it, 12 state Assembly members and seven state Senators earned a 100% rating.

Kelly Hardy, senior managing director of health and research at the nonprofit Children Now Action Fund, said the scoring reflects more than how lawmakers vote.

"They voted the right way on health and child welfare, child care, education," Hardy outlined. "They also supported kids in the budget, which is not always an easy thing to do when we've got budget deficits."

The lowest scores hovered around 48%, awarded to lawmakers who voted against certain bills but also voted for proposals like forced outing policies for LGBTQ+ students in schools.

Hardy noted the report is intended to inform voters as they head to the ballot box next month.

"Kids may not vote but we want to elect legislators who do their best to support kids," Hardy explained.

California ranks 35th in the nation for child well-being, according to the latest Annie E. Casey Foundation report and is just above the national average for per-pupil spending on K-12 education.