CHIP Update

 

From National Family Voices:

New development: As reported in earlier Updates, federal CHIP funding expired on September 30. So far, states have managed to keep their CHIP programs up and running, but some states will deplete their CHIP funds soon; Colorado has started starting to notify beneficiaries that they may lose coverage. For this reason, Congress is likely to consider a short-term fix - passing legislation to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to re-allocate left-over CHIP funds to the states that need it most urgently. This "band-aid" CHIP legislation would be attached to the must-pass "continuing resolution" (CR) needed to keep the government funded beyond December 8 (this Friday). That CR is expected to last until either December 22 or December 30.

 

Child health advocates, including Family Voices, sent a letter to congressional leadership on November 30, urging that they "move forward immediately with a strong, bipartisan five-year extension of CHIP funding that is not accompanied by harmful offsets on the next bipartisan must-pass bill." Governors have also weighed in on the need for swift action on CHIP funding (as well as funding for community health centers and home visiting). Accordingly, advocates would prefer that the final CHIP legislation, rather than the temporary fix, be included on the upcoming CR. If, as is more likely, the CHIP extension is put off until later, then more states are in danger of running out of CHIP funding. Even before a state actually gets to that point, it must give notice to families that their children's coverage may end, which will create fear and confusion among parents, and additional administrative expenses for states. See The Damage to Children's Health Insurance Is Already Being Done (The Atlantic, 11/22/17); States - And 9M Kids - 'In A Bind' As Congress Dawdles On CHIP Funding (Kaiser Health News, 12/4/17).

 

As noted in the last Update, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an Informational Bulletin to guide states in figuring out what to do if they must cease offering CHIP coverage. See CMS Guidance Increases Urgency for Congress to Extend CHIP Funding ("Say Ahhh!" Georgetown Center on Children and Families Blog, Nov. 13, 2017) and State Checklist for Shutting Down CHIP Programs,from the National Academy on State Health Policy (NASHP).