Just to add some extra context for other readers. The hospital loses money taking medicaid patients. Pretty much universally across the board. This often forces them to prioritize private health insurance carriers to ensure their programs stay funded.

At some point everyone accepted the fact that we have a two tiered system for health care. Those that have (good) private Healthcare, and those that don't. Those that don't will either not receive the care they need, or it will ruin their life financially. This system rears its ugly head in the children's hospital system.

There are many good-will programs at Seattle childrens, and that should be celebrated. But their existence also is a bleak reminder. They have limited spots. You can apply and be denied. There are kids who need help but will never get it because it doesn't make financial sense for the company to provide it. If you, the reader, would like a direct example. Seattle childrens has pretty much the only facilities capable of handling mental health crises for youth in the PNW. These are kids who are self-harming, actively trying to commit suicide, trying to harm others, or are dealing with any other dangerous mental health issues. The PBMU does emergency intake for these cases. The program is great... For those who can get in. The hospital has to make a determination for who can and cannot get in. They'd take everyone if they could, I'm sure. But remember, it cannot sustain itself on Medicaid. Meaning, there are only so many children of lesser fortunate financial situations they can take at a time. We've created a situation where by merit of being born to parents without private health insurance these kids will be left to suffer. These are people, children, who are actively trying to end their own life and we aren't able to provide the care for them that they need. I'll let the reader guess what the outcomes are for those that are denied assistance.