Child Advocates Seek An Ear on Health Care

By Ellen Flax

The emergence of health-insurance reform as a potent national issue gives child advocates a chance to press for changes they have long argued are needed to improve the health status of children.

But making the most of the opportunity will likely take some hard bargaining, they concede.

"Kids are secondary in this," said Alfonso Guida, a public-policy analyst for the Child Welfare League of America. Broader economic and political forces are driving the debate,...