CHIP Deadline Passes, Putting Millions of Children’s Health Insurance at Risk
<p>The deadline for Congress to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP, passed this weekend. Two recent Commonwealth Fund publications examine the consequences for families and states if Congress fails to act on a program that provides health coverage for millions of low-income children.</p><p><a href="/publications/issue-briefs/2017/sep/extending-childrens-health-insurance-program-high-stakes">An analysis by Sara Rosenbaum and colleagues at George Washington University</a> found that, without an extension by Congress, nearly all states will run out of federal CHIP funds by summer 2018, with the majority of states exhausting their funds much earlier. More than 1 million children could lose coverage entirely, while many others could face reduced coverage and significantly higher out-of-pocket costs.</p>
<p><a href="/blog/2017/fewer-uninsured-children-less-disparity-and-keeping-it-way">In a post on <em>To the Point</em>, the Fund’s Susan Hayes and coauthors</a> point out that between 1997, when CHIP was enacted, and 2015, the uninsured rate for children under age 18 fell by more than two-thirds, to 4.5 percent. Disparities in uninsured rates between minority and white children narrowed, too. Failing to reauthorize CHIP now will jeopardize the health of millions of children.</p>