AAP Issues Policy Statement On Ensuring Access, Quality To Pediatric Home Health Care

The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its recommendations for pediatric home health care financing in a policy statement published in the December 2025 Pediatrics. The statement, “Financing of Pediatric Home Health Care,” published online Nov. 17, 2025, observes that a common misunderstanding of pediatric home health care is that it exists to support parents. Instead, home health care is both medically necessary and legally entitled care for the medically vulnerable child, as explained in the policy statement, written by the AAP Section on Home Care and Committee on Child Health Financing. Children who once may not have survived birth are now surviving, and they require more significant care. More children with medical complexity are being cared for at home, often with the help of medical equipment such as feeding tubes, oxygen, or ventilators allowing them to be with family in lieu of a hospital setting. The AAP advocates for accessible, high-quality pediatric home health care, including the development of pediatric-specific home health care regulations, eligibility guidance, and pediatric-focused metrics. Home health care is a key part of the child’s journey as they grow and eventually transition to adult care and systems. The policy calls for adequately funded and trained workforce of home health care providers including physicians, advanced practice providers, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, aides, therapists and family caregivers, among others. Policy statements created by AAP are written by medical experts, reflect the latest evidence in the field, and go through several rounds of peer review before being approved by the AAP Board of Directors and published in Pediatrics. 

[To request a copy of the embargoed policy statement or an interview with an expert, contact AAP Public Affairs.] 

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.