Congress failed to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Plan by the September 30 deadline. CHIP gives modest-income families that earn too much for Medicaid an affordable coverage option. What does this mean for the 400,000 Texas children covered by CHIP? According to the Dallas Morning News, a lot of uncertainty, especially for Harvey survivors:
“As…the system absorbs new applicants made eligible by Harvey, some experts fear that between rising demand for care and unpredictable reauthorization, these families will have nowhere to turn for health insurance.”
CHIP has broad, bipartisan support, and the only reason it hasn’t been funded is because of Congress’s ineptitude, and its zeal for repealing the ACA. Call your MoCs in both the House and Senate and tell them to fund the CHIP program before more Texas children and pregnant women lose coverage.