Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

By Kate Giammarise

Federal funding for a program that provides health insurance for 176,000 children in Pennsylvania will expire at the end of September unless Congress acts to extend it.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, needs to be re-funded by Congress every few years, but advocates say they are concerned because of recent Congressional fights over health care and the uncertain future of the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid program, which insures many low-income and disabled Americans. Congress also has a short window of time in which to act and several other looming large issues on its calendar in September.

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“Ideally, Congress would have acted on CHIP funding several months ago or even last year,” said Kelly Whitener, a health policy researcher at Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families.

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