The GOP-controlled Congress let the Children’s Health Insurance Program expire last night without even holding a vote on renewing it. TheChildren’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has reduced the uninsured rate among kids to 5% from 14% during the twenty years it has been in effect. Now with its expiration, nine million children and pregnant women in low-income households face losing medical care. Many states will have to cut back or possibly even shut down their children’s health programs unless Congress restores funding.
According to the Medicaid officials, who manage the CHIP program on the federal side, several states will run out of money as early as next week, while California, Arizona, Minnesota and North Carolina will last until December or early in January. 50% of states will exhaust their funding by the end of the first quarter next year.
No one so far expects any quick action from Congress to restore funding to this crucial public health program, despite desperate pleas from panicked state health care officials across the country.
The looming expiration of the Children’s Health Insurance Program failed to garner much attention from the public before the deadline, but now that it has actually lapsed people are beginning to speak out. MSNBC anchor Joy Reid published this admonition on Twitter yesterday to bring attention to the failure to prevent this national embarrassment:
Verified Politics reports: With the health of defenseless children, who are not exactly able to go out and purchase their own insurance, on the line, it will take a concerted effort from citizens harassing their representatives to restore this crucial safety net and protect the innocent victims of Republican obstructionism and inaction.