Abstract
Health, like wealth, can be inherited. We pass down health knowledge,
health behaviors, and health itself between generations, just as we do wealth.
What happens when a lack of health is passed between generations, and how
can an intergenerational legacy of ill health be interrupted? This concept of
health inheritance can explain, in part, why health gaps are widening between
those who are very wealthy and those experiencing extreme poverty and why
health disparities persist between racial groups. The concept of intergenerational
health, in conjunction with social determinants of health, can reframe how we
approach health care, especially for groups that have historically experienced a
lack of health due to subordination. In this paper, using dental health as an
example, I propose that states utilize Medicaid to reframe health care delivery by
aligning child and adult health coverage. To make this targeted reform possible
within the current health care system, I propose that states initially make an
incremental change to Medicaid and expand dental coverage to whole
households to demonstrate the effectiveness of an intergenerational approach to
health care delivery. This targeted reform would be a small but crucial step
towards health equity and healing generations-long health harms due in no
small part to the subordination of individuals.