Mission and Priorities
Our Mission
The New England Alliance for Children’s Health (NEACH), an initiative of Community Catalyst, is a broad coalition of over 500 New England-based health care and child advocates, hospitals and health care providers, legal experts, interfaith organizations, business leaders, and consumers dedicated to promoting access to high-quality, affordable health care for all children. As the only children’s health advocacy initiative specifically focused on the New England states, we are uniquely positioned to influence national policy decisions, assist state-based partners in their work to improve the health care system for children, and lead region-wide campaigns. By analyzing policies, building coalitions, and providing strategic communications support, we work to improve health outcomes for children both in New England and across the country.
Our Past Successes
- Secured near-unanimous support from the New England Congressional delegation as part of the passage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA)
- Ensured that policymakers and the public were aware of the importance of children’s health issues during the successful campaign to pass the national health reform law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
- Supported the advancement of children’s health care priorities in each New England state by providing rapid response support to state partners during state legislative sessions
- Furthered understanding across the region of strategies for effective and smart partnerships by releasing reports highlighting New England’s child health advocacy success stories and the views of business leaders concerning child health advocacy
Our Current Priorities
- Federal Advocacy: We are working to protect and enhance Medicaid and CHIP as well as to support the implementation of the ACA, CHIPRA, and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
- State Technical Assistance: We are committed to providing strategic support for our partners in each of the six New England states as they work to protect and enhance health care for their state’s children.
- Quality: We support state and federal efforts to improve the quality of children’s health, including obesity prevention measures such as state-based sugar-sweetened beverage tax campaigns.
- Regional Coalition-Building: We are continually forming new relationships with state, regional, and national organizations to enhance our influence as well as fostering intra-region collaboration by providing our partners with a variety of opportunities to engage with each other to share news and best practices.
