Children need CHIP

From Jahmal Henderson:

CHIP, a program that has existed for two decades, is a godsend for the children who depend on it and their families. The program offers low-cost health coverage to families that don't have the income to afford other health care but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, and provides children with everything from checkups to prescriptions to emergency services and, in some states, covers expectant mothers. Around 2 million of the children enrolled in CHIP have asthma, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, mood disorders, diabetes, epilepsy or developmental disorders. Yet, despite this program being a lifeline for many children, it ran out of funding on September 30 because the Republican-controlled Congress failed to act. And now we are at the point where states, which individually administer the program, have begun informing parents that their children's health care is in jeopardy. Just this past week, Virginia officials sent letters to over a thousand pregnant women and parents to alert them that their coverage "could lapse."

Even more alarming is that 16 states will run out of funds by the end of January, potentially depriving hundreds of thousands -- perhaps even millions -- of children and pregnant mothers of the health care under CHIP. Just imagine what it would be like if you were facing the painful reality that in a few weeks you might not be able to afford to help your sick child get health care?. The GOP tax bill would repeal the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will cause 13 million fewer Americans to be covered by 2027 because they will opt not to get insurance. Additionally, Americans could expect a 10% spike in premiums in most years over the next decade. So not only are Congressional Republicans not helping children who depend on CHIP, they are repealing the individual mandate, and in doing so, saving over $300 billion to help pay for their massive tax cuts.

Trump and the GOP's failure to act to help these children isn't happenstance. Trump's budget proposal released earlier this year called for significant cuts to CHIP. And just a few weeks ago while debating funding CHIP, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, commented: "But the reason CHIP's having trouble is because we don't have money anymore, and to just add more and more spending and more and more spending."