About EPSDT
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires states to ensure that all Medicaid-eligible children and youth under age 21 receive comprehensive health services, especially early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment (EPSDT) services.
The EPSDT program was enacted by Congress in 1967 and became effective in 1969. EPSDT is designed to address problems early, ameliorate conditions, and intervene as early as possible and is key to ensuring that children and adolescents receive appropriate preventive, dental, mental health, and developmental, and specialty services.
EPSDT Services Include:
Early |
and comprehensive health care to assess a child's health status,
identify risks or concerns, and intervene promptly. |
Periodic |
well-child
visits at recommended age-appropriate intervals (periodicity). |
Screening |
services
including health history, physical exam, tests and assessments,
immunizations, and health guidance. |
Diagnostic |
services
to determine the nature and cause of identified health
problems and evaluate treatment options. |
Treatment |
services,
including early intervention, to correct or improve physical,
developmental, and mental health conditions. |
Additional Information:
For current resources on EPSDT, see EPSDT Services in Medicaid knowledge path.
About the Hiscock Collection
The William McConway Hiscock collection and index was donated to NCEMCH in 1995. In 2015, NCEMCH received a grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to digitize materials in the collection, make them available through this web page, and incorporate the electronic holdings into the MCH Knowledge Base, which houses critical resources of the last century in maternal and child health.*
The original collection included 157 documents focused on the early development of the program. This collection includes all documents that are available, and is supplemented with other materials from the NCEMCH MCH Knowledge Base from 1972 through the early 2000's for a total of 175 titles.
William McConway Hiscock, whose 47-year career in public health ranged from directing studies in public health training for the Yale University School of Medicine, to being executive director of the Central Maryland Health Systems Agency, Inc, to serving as a program officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Care Financing Administration (now CMS). During the 1960's, while at the Office of the Surgeon General, Hiscock was involved in drafting legislation that eventually created the Medicaid system, EPSDT, and other Federal health programs to aid children, senior citizens, and vulnerable populations.
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Use the following links to find all documents in the collection that address critical issues addressed by EPSDT:
* This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-00004-C with the University of Maryland Baltimore.