Congress Lets Healthcare Funding Expire For Children

CHIP has wide support and studies have shown the program helps reduce hospitalizations and child mortality and increase quality of care.

“The department urges Congress to re-authorize CHIP so that 176,241 Pennsylvania children can continue to receive health insurance”.

The program, which covers routine check-ups, dental care, vaccinations and other medical care, is largely federally funded. Two separate state programs are now in jeopardy. For some states, including Idaho, the money will last only a few months. The proposal by Sens.

Utah’s senior Republican senator Orrin Hatch (pictured above whispering with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) chairs the committee in charge of funding CHIP.

A bipartisan bill now in the Senate Finance Committee may reauthorize CHIP before states begin to exhaust funding. Plans include visits to pediatricians, pediatric and surgical specialists, and children’s hospitals.

Officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were “supportive” of that idea based on early talks about Idahos options if CHIP funding runs out, Forbing-Orr said.

“Well, kudos to us”, she said.

“West Virginia children are enrolled in CHIP and to let this funding expire is nothing short of negligent”, Manchin said in a statement.

The law does allow the use of unspent funds from prior years, so states are now relying on those accounts. “And its going to be very hard to have access to that affordable coverage.”. “The CHIP program has proven to be vital to maintaining balanced nutrition, enhanced wellness, and healthy neighborhoods for years”.

“He has been supportive of the program, ” said Crapo spokesman Lindsey Nothern. “Congress has been talking all year about taking away health coverage from families, so if a family gets a notice that says, ‘Your coverage may be taken away, ‘ there are many reasons for them to think it’s a strong possibility”.

Joan Benso, president and CEO of the nonprofit Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said the annual federal share of CHIP funding in the state is more than $385 million. Many families in my district and across Alabama rely on CHIP to cover their children’s checkups, immunizations, emergency care and more. In Kansas, the rate dropped from 5.1 percent in 2015 to 4.3 percent in 2016, and it’s a almost 30-percent drop from 2013.

But even with the state no longer having to provide a match, some Arizona legislators still opposed the program. Qualifying families pay premiums ranging from $52 to $104 per child per year, depending on income and co-pays. “This is a really big deal”, said Ryan Van Ramshorst, a pediatrician with University Health System. That number is now about 5% because of CHIP, the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. Congress is expected to call it for a vote in the coming weeks. Without congressional intervention again, that cut will amount to $2 billion to the DSH program nationally – Arizona would lose $11.2 million of the $111.2 million allotment it has been getting. What are the income thresholds for kids to qualify for CHIP? At worst, children will start losing health insurance coverage, and states like Maryland will be on the hook for hundreds of millions in extra costs. Are U.S. citizens or legal residents?

HO: Absolutely. I mean we have certainly seen the children’s health insurance plan play an important role in children’s access to health coverage.