“We believe covering children and pregnant women without disruption is one thing we can all agree on,” the governors wrote.
Funding for CHIP, which provides health insurance for roughly 9 million children, expired Sept. 30 and requires Congress to pass a bill to renew authorization. The House passed a bill in November to fund CHIP through 2022, but it was met with opposition from Democrats because the offsets in the bill would have cut some public health programs and reduced the grace period for ACA enrollees who miss a premium payment. The Senate Finance Committee agreed to reauthorize CHIP funding, but has yet to provide a bill with viable offsets. In the meantime, states are running out of funds.
Congress approved a short-term funding bill Dec. 8, authorizing CMS to redistribute any remaining CHIP funds to states with emergency shortfalls through the end of the year. However, these funds are limited.
“Resources are nearly exhausted and some states already have begun to inform families that their children’s coverage may end on January 31,” the governors wrote in their letter to Congress. “We encourage you to work across the aisle to find common ground that will allow this important program to continue and give the families who rely on CHIP the peace of mind of knowing that their children will be able to get the health care they need in the new year.”
The letter was signed by the governors of Colorado, Ohio, Alaska, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia, Massachusetts, Montana, Vermont, Nevada and Minnesota.
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