Congress allowed the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides health insurance to 9 million American children, to expire Sept. 30. Without CHIP funding, millions of children nationwide and thousands in our state will be at risk of losing their health coverage, with no other affordable alternative. With a lot of bipartisan support for this widely popular program, it should be a no-brainer to pass a clean, fully funded, extension of CHIP; Congress just needs to act.
CHIP ensures coverage for the most vulnerable children, and helps to ease the burden of parents struggling economically. Since its inception in 1997, CHIP and Medicaid have helped to cut the number of uninsured children by 68 percent, while improving health outcomes and access to care for kids and pregnant women across the U.S. In fact, CHIP and Medicaid cover 1 in 3 kids in the U.S.
In order to keep our children healthy and help families that are struggling economically, it is crucial that Congress extend CHIP funding for five years this month. It’s the perfect opportunity for our leaders in Washington, D.C., to come together to get something positive done for the American people.
Geraldine Jones, Herriman