Washington – The First Focus Campaign for Children, a national bipartisan children’s advocacy organization, reacted to today’s introduction by Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) to extend funding for the bipartisan federal-state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The bill would extend federal CHIP funding for four years. Unless Congress acts first, CHIP funding will end on October 1, 2015.
CHIP is a bipartisan success story, created by a Republican-controlled Congress and a Democratic president in 1997. The initiative offers state governments flexibility to deliver coverage through private health insurance companies using programs tailored to the needs of children in each state. It is credited in large part for the 50 percent reduction in the rate of uninsurance among children since the late 1990s.
CHIP provides health care for eight million children. If CHIP funding is not extended, millions of those children will become uninsured, others will be added to states’ Medicaid rolls or get coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) “Marketplaces.” A study released on Tuesday shows that CHIP offers more coverage of child-specific care than Marketplace plans, with dramatically lower out-of-pocket costs.
“CHIP protects children’s health and families’ economic security every day, and we thank Congressman Pallone and Congressman Waxman for standing up for CHIP and children’s health. With all of the progress we have made in reducing the numbers of uninsured kids, it makes no sense to end the CHIP program. Children will lose coverage if Congress fails to act.”
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The First Focus Campaign for Children is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization affiliated with First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization. The Campaign for Children advocates directly for legislative change in Congress to ensure children and families are the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. For more information, visit www.ffcampaignforchildren.org.