Medicaid, together with the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), forms the backbone of pediatric care in the United States — providing nearly 40 million children with access to routine checkups to life-saving hospital services. But that care is at risk. Congress is considering cuts to Medicaid funding, which could have devastating consequences for kids and the specialized hospitals that serve them.

In this episode, Chip Kahn is joined by Matthew Cook, President and CEO of the Children’s Hospital Association. With decades of leadership experience on the floors of children’s hospitals and now serving as a national advocate, Matt offers powerful stories into what’s at stake if Medicaid is scaled back — and why protecting it is critical for the health and future of America’s children.

Key topics include:

• The scope of Medicaid’s support for children’s health;
• The role of children’s hospitals in providing pediatric care;
• Unique challenges facing children’s hospitals;
• What proposed Medicaid cuts could mean for access, treatment delays, and pediatric services; and,
• What lawmakers need to understand beyond balancing the budget.

Guest Bio: 

Matthew Cook is President and CEO of Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), representing over 200 children’s hospitals and health systems as the leading national advocates for children’s health.   

Cook is an established health care industry executive with decades of unparalleled leadership which includes leadership roles at children’s hospitals and maternal health programs. Cook also previously served as a member of CHA’s Board of Trustees and Public Policy Committees.  

Prior to joining CHA, Cook served as president of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals and senior vice president of Children’s Services at UCSF Health, where he oversaw strategic direction, operations, and clinical services for all pediatric services in both Oakland and San Francisco, as well as serving on the UCSF Health leadership team.   

Cook previously served as president of Riley Children’s Health and chief strategy officer for Indiana University Health and served as executive vice president of strategic planning and business development at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Cook was also a principal at the Chartis Group, a health care consulting firm based in Chicago.  

Cook earned a Master of Business Administration from New York University and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.