Hiltzik: What does the GOP have against children?

Key Points:

• Recent changes in U.S. healthcare policies under the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have led to reduced childhood immunization recommendations and cuts to nutritional assistance programs, raising concerns about child health outcomes.
• The recommended childhood vaccines were cut from 17 to 11, removing important immunizations for diseases like COVID-19, hepatitis, and meningitis without professional consultation, contributing to a decline in vaccination rates and a resurgence of measles cases.
• Proposed and enacted cuts to programs like WIC and SNAP have reduced access to nutritious food for millions of children, which experts warn can cause long-term developmental and cognitive harm due to malnutrition.
• Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program enrollment have dropped significantly, partly due to new work requirements and administrative hurdles, further limiting children's access to healthcare and vaccinations.
• Reporting requirements for immunization data have been relaxed, making it harder to monitor vaccination trends and potentially obscuring the impact of these policy changes on public health.