Threading the Labyrinth: Why Children in California with Special Health Care Needs Endure Delays in Securing the Medical Equipment and Supplies They Need

Approximately 200,000 children with serious medical conditions receive health coverage through the California Children’s Services (CCS) program, whose responsibilities include ensuring that these children are provided with the medically necessary durable medical equipment (DME) and supplies that they require. 

Although data are scant, three recent surveys and dozens of interviews point to frequent long delays in obtaining equipment and supplies.  Children suffer when deliveries are delayed, and parents report that these delays distract them from caring for their children, cause unnecessary developmental lags, and increase physical pain and suffering. 

This report examines the administrative barriers that are behind these chronic delays, and offers recommendations for what can be done to address them.  


Also See: A related fact sheet that highlights the recommendations.