Congress last week failed to reauthorize a program that gives children from lower-income families in Idaho, Washington, and across the country a lifeline to medical care.
The Children’s Health Insurance Program, better known as CHIP, expired Saturday, leading to a scramble in both in Congress and among the states over how to maintain the coverage. While the program didn’t vanish over the weekend, the federal funding supply that helps to sustain it has been cut off.
Most states have leftover funding to keep the program running for a while, and for some states, including Idaho, the money will last only a few months.
The program covers about 35,000 children in Idaho, and 60,000 in Washington.
The top Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee last month announced they had reached agreement to renew CHIP, a proposal that would continue funding at 2017 levels for another two years, with reductions in future years. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Washington Senator Maria Cantwell sit on the committee.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare says funding for the Gem State is expected to last at least through January, and if the legislation does not pass, there are contingency plans for maintaining children’s coverage, including moving children from CHIP onto Medicaid.
The Senate committee is scheduled to take up the bill Wednesday. (Idaho Statesman)
