The Washington Independent
November 3, 2009
Nine months ago, Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill were all celebration as they hailed the
renewal of the popular Childrenʼs Health Insurance Program. Last week, they called for
CHIPʼs demise.
The $894 billion, 1,990-page health reform bill unveiled by House Democrats last Thursday
would repeal CHIP at the end of 2013, shifting millions of kids instead into private plans
contained on a proposed health insurance marketplace, dubbed the exchange.
Party leaders have been mostly tight-lipped about their motivations. But a series of factors
seem to have driven their decision, according to sources on and off Capitol Hill, including
hopes to get family members under the same plan, to centralize control of the state-run CHIP
program, and to shift more folks into private coverage to win the support of both the
insurance lobby and moderate Democrats.
