PBS NewsHour

By: Laura Santhanam

CHIP made health care affordable for Bell’s family, whose kids are among more than 87,000 enrolled children in Mississippi. But until Congress acts, her puzzle is missing a piece.

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A summer filled with attempts to dismantle Obamacare drained time and resources from passing other legislation, even CHIP, which has enjoyed bipartisan support for years, said Joan Alker, who directs the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University.

If Congress doesn’t resolve the program’s funding, “we’ll start to see consequences,” Alker said. Utah requested permission to freeze new enrollment, she said, adding that Nevada has warned it may soon send out notices.

Generally, the program’s complex funding formula offers 65 to 85 percent back in federal money for every state dollar spent, so it’s difficult to know when states will run out of money, Alker said. And if this state of limbo persists for a few months, she said the gains the nation has reported in achieving near-universal health care coverage for children will slip away.

“We don’t want kids to be uninsured,” she said. “It exposes families to medical debt and economic insecurity.”

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