On September 30, federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expired. Congressional Republicans claimed that they didn’t want this to happen — they just got so caught up with trying to repeal Obamacare (a.k.a. trying to take health care away from millions of adults) that they forgot to preserve access to basic medical care for 9 million low-income children. Regardless, the public had no need to worry: States had enough money to keep CHIP running for the rest of the year, and Republicans would reauthorize the program with all due haste.
Nearly two months later, congressional Republicans are so caught up with trying to cut taxes on corporations (while taking health care away from millions of adults), they haven’t quite found time to renew CHIP.
In at least 11 states, funds allocated for CHIP will run out by January’s end. A majority of states will be bereft of funds for the program by April. But throughout the country, the program is already in a state of crisis.
On Monday, working-class families in Colorado received lettersencouraging them to look into private insurance options, as their children could soon be tossed off government health care. Several other states will send out similar letters this week.
These missives won’t just be a short-term worry for working families who already have more than enough worries — they also threaten to undermine CHIP in the long-term…
Meanwhile, states are already wasting money and personnel hours on contingency plans for CHIP’s demise. Some have stopped pushing eligible families to sign up for the program, a development that could lead to many more low-income children going without coverage, even if the program gets reauthorized in December: If states don’t spend time and money spreading awareness of the program, many parents will fail to take advantage of it.
And it’s far from certain that CHIP will get funded…
In Texas it’s estimated the 30 days notice that your kids’ coverage will disappear will go out Dec. 22. Merry fucking Christmas.
btw, in case you didn’t know this:
CHIP is a BLOCK GRANT health insurance program.
That means, unlike Medicaid/Medicare which is funded through an “ongoing funding stream,” CHIP’s block grant has to be re-authorized by Congress every few years. Every few years, it runs the risk of becoming a casualty of political wrangling like you see now.
CHIP provides insurance for about 9 million people.
Now, remember the abomination that was Trumpcare and the Republican’s proposal to make Medicaid a block grant program?
Medicaid serves 70 million people. Imagine THAT being in the same situation as CHIP is in right now. The consequences are potentially catastrophic for insurees, state governments, health care systems, etc. Medicaid becomes “too big to fail” as a block grant, making it a huge chip in the Republican bank the next time the want to play chicken with the Democrats around funding social programs.
The GOP Has Officially Engineered a Children’s Health-Care Crisis
Hearseeno 