2017
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Congress Approves CR but Fails to Pass Long-Term CHIP Funding
As Cathy Hope forecast in an earlier blog today, Congress passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) today that will keep the government funded through January 19, 2018. The bill also includes a small amount of additional funding for CHIP, but it falls woefully short. Unlike the last CR, which as SayAhhh! readers already know simply…
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Research Update: Health Care Expenses from Families’ Budgets to Federal Budgets
This week, I am reading studies on how health coverage eases financial pressures on families’ budgets and how children fare in federal expenditures. Commonwealth Fund’s What’s at Stake: States’ Progress on Health Coverage and Access to Care, 2013–2016 This brief examines the progress made since the ACA, including increases in health coverage for children and…
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Bipartisan support for CHIP extension not resulting in quick solution
WILX 10 An insurance program meant to cover low-income kids is nearly out of money. Washington can easily reauthorize new money for the program, and many legislators on both sides of the aisle want to. However, another week wraps up, and once again, Congress has not closed a deal on new funding for the Children’s…
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Medicaid Expansion and the Future of CHIP
WGCU News By: John Davis A pair of Democratic state lawmakers have introduced joint resolutions for the 2018 legislative session that propose an amendment to the Florida constitution to expand Medicaid coverage through the Affordable Care Act. The proposals, from Rep. Lori Berman, D-Lantana and Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, would have to be approved by at least 60 percent of…
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What’s At Stake In Massachusetts If Federal CHIP Funding Is Not Renewed
WGBH News By: Emily Judem A brightly decorated Christmas tree blinks in one corner of the children’s playroom, and in front of it, Samuel and Gabriella Diaz are sitting on the floor, surrounded by a colorful array of toys. Two-year-old Gabriella, dressed in pink flannel penguin pajamas, squeals happily as she pulls a wooden duck…
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State officials panicked over CHIP: ‘We’re in a terrible situation right now’
Politico Pro By: Rachana Pradhan Families are becoming increasingly panicked about children losing health insurance without new funding from Congress, state officials warned Wednesday as a new report showed nearly 2 million kids could be dropped from coverage next month. Roughly 1.9 million children across the country could lose insurance in January if Congress fails to renew…
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States prepare to shut down children’s health programs if Congress doesn’t act
Washington Post By: Colby Itkowitz Officials in nearly a dozen states are preparing to notify families that a crucial health insurance program for low-income children is running out of money for the first time since its creation two decades ago, putting coverage for many at risk by the end of the year. … Other states,…
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Short-Term Fix is Not Enough to Reassure Children and Families CHIP is Secure
Congress created a crisis when it failed to meet the deadline to extend CHIP funding on September 30, and they have been kicking the can down the road ever since. Their neglect has left states trying to hold their CHIP programs together as best they can under very difficult circumstances, while holding out hope that…
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The Tax Bill: Bad News for Marketplaces and Medicaid
The tax bill (H.R. 1, The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”) that Congress passed this week is about more than cutting taxes for corporations and high-income individuals, although it is definitely about that. It’s also about cutting health coverage for low-income children and families. The bill’s repeal of the tax penalty for not having health…
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Congress has 11 days before the CHIP nightmare gets very real
Vox By: Dylan Scott The stakes of Congress’s inability to reauthorize funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are getting dire. Congress let the program’s funding technically expire at the end of September. States and the feds have been getting by with some creative budgeting to make sure no kids are kicked off the…
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Here’s when states could run out of money to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program
PBS News Hour By: Laura Santhanam Nine million children nationwide receive health care coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program. But many of them could soon be uninsured if Congress doesn’t vote to reauthorize its funding. … ll states will feel the impact of a discontinued CHIP. It’s just a matter of when and by…
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Millions Of Kids Might Lose Health Care Because Congress Dropped The Ball
Huffington Post By: Jeffrey Young Congress’ failure to renew a program that provides health care to low-income children by year’s end could cause almost 2 million kids to lose their coverage as soon as next month. That’s according to a report published Wednesday by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Federal funding for the Children’s…
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Delay in Children’s Health Funding Worries States and Advocates
CQ By: Sandhya Raman Children’s advocates and state officials are dismayed that long-term funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program may be delayed until next year, with a short-term fix likely to keep states going until then. Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, hinted at a further delay in a press release earlier…
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Kids’ health insurance hangs in balance, and parents wonder what’s wrong with Congress
Washington Post By: Robert Samuels The lingering uncertainty in Congress over the fate of the Children’s Health Insurance Program has left Ashlee and Levi Smith torn between optimism and anxiety. As the parents of two young children who have relied on the government-backed health-care plan, the Smiths are unsure whether they should stretch their finances…
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Unless Congress Acts, Nearly 2 Million Children Could Lose Health Coverage in January
New York Times By: Haeyoun Park If Congress does not renew federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP, more than 1.9 million children in 23 states could lose health coverage in January, according to a new analysis by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. … Nationally, CHIP insures nearly nine million children in low-income families.…
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New 50-state Report: Medicaid/CHIP Crucial for Infants and Toddlers and Their Parents
As we wait with bated breath to see whether Congress will pass a long-term CHIP funding extension before the holidays, a timely new report serves as a good reminder of importance of Medicaid and CHIP for our nation’s youngest children and their parents—and the very real possibilities that the gifts of this coverage could be taken…
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If Congress Fails to Fund CHIP Before Holidays, Children Likely to Lose Coverage in New Year
Funding for CHIP expired on September 30th of this year. Despite bipartisan agreement in both the House and the Senate on a five year extension of CHIP, Congress has still not managed to get the job done. CHIP is a block grant program, which means that unlike Medicaid, Congress must act to ensure that it gets…
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New Report on CHIP Funding Delay Shows Nearly 2 Million Kids May Lose Coverage in January
A new analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families found that if Congress does not act soon to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), an estimated 1.9 million children in separate CHIP programs could lose coverage in January. An additional 1 million children would also be at risk of losing coverage…
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Medicaid and CHIP 101: Medicaid and CHIP’s Foundational Role in Covering Kids and Families
Georgetown CCF’s Tricia Brooks and Kelly Whitener cover the structure of Medicaid and CHIP, including administration, financing, eligibility, benefits, cost-sharing, and how ACA repeal efforts threaten the future of Medicaid. Download a copy of the slide deck below.
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Bipartisan support for CHIP extension not resulting in quick solution
WILX 10 An insurance program meant to cover low-income kids is nearly out of money. Washington can easily reauthorize new money for the program, and many legislators on both sides of the aisle want to. However, another week wraps up, and once again, Congress has not closed a deal on new funding for the Children’s…
