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After over 100 days of uncertainty since funding expired in September 2017…
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has finally received full funding!
U.S. Lawmakers voted to fund CHIP for another six years as part of the spending bill which reopened the government on Jan. 22, 2018. The timing could not have been any better, as CHIP temporary funding measures were scheduled to run out, as well.
The program has received support both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, according to Vox.
However, the program became an unfortunate bargaining tool, which caused widespread concern from both healthcare professionals and families dependent upon CHIP.
“This action ends months of anxiety and worry for the hard-working families who rely on CHIP for life-saving health care,” said Frederick Isasi, executive director of Families USA in an interview with The Hill. “States — some of which had already sent notices to families warning of looming CHIP enrollment freezes — can now set about restoring trust that CHIP will be there for kids and their families.”
Now that funding for CHIP has been settled for the foreseeable future, what makes it so important?
Why CHIP Matters?
CHIP has provided coverage to millions of children and families since it was created in 1997.
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families estimated that 24 states could face CHIP funding shortfalls by the end of January, putting an estimated 1.7 million children’s coverage at risk in 21 of those states.
For Latinos, it has been especially beneficial and has been credited for helping to greatly reduce the number of uninsured kids in the U.S.
A report from the Georgetown Center determined that 20 states in 2014 had uninsured rates for Latinos that were significantly below the national average. Of these, 16 states had large rates of CHIP enrollees.
Kids on CHIP are more likely to go to the dentist than those who are uninsured and are less likely to have unmet needs for necessary medical services; these include services like getting prescription eyeglasses or mental health counseling.
When funding for CHIP originally expired, a temporary spending bill in December gave the program $2.85 billion which was supposed to carry states through March of 2018. This was to cover an estimated 9 million children. Some states began to run short almost as soon as that bill passed and some passed freezes on enrollment.
Learn more about the importance of health insurance for kids here:
- Fewer Latinos Signed Up Online for Health Insurance than Whites, Blacks #SaludInsurance #SaludSupport http://salud.to/2gGhLTN
- Report: 1 Million Latinos Just Enrolled for Healthcare Coverage! #SaludInsurance #SaludSupport http://salud.to/2CPgiHz
By The Numbers
25.1
percent
of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage
