CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program provides insurance through state and federal funding for children through age 18
if their parents don’t qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford private insurance.
It covers 9 million kids and expires on September 30. States are paid a lump sum every two years and have money to extend the program for a little while after the deadline, but, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 10 out of 42 states that report such data say that they will run out of funding before December 31, 2017.
CHIP provides vital health services for our nation’s children. This includes:
- Routine check-ups
- Immunizations
- Doctor visits
- Prescriptions
- Dental and vision care
- Inpatient and outpatient hospital care
- Laboratory and X-ray services
- Emergency services
Some specific benefits may be different from state to state.
I saw that Joan McCarter had written on this yesterday, but am concerned that it stay at the forefront of our attention. This, and ACA reform, are essential parts of the fight against Republicare and we need to be sure that we don’t get so busy breathing a sigh of relief about the temporary demise of Republicare that we let our guard down.
Please call your Senators and ramp up the same protests we have used so successfully. This could be lost in the brouhaha of Trump’s twitters. I hear little about it. Having worked in a state where we struggled to get Sarah Palin to raise CHIP support to cover more children above the required minimums (she promised to do it and then sold us out) I know how important it is to our children. Their health is the bedrock of everything we can do now and in the future
Thank you for your attention. Please act.