Action Alert: Support Extension of Children's Health Insurance Program
The CHIP Program expired on September 30th. If
Congress does not act quickly to extend funding for CHIP then school districts
will lose funding for the critical health services provided to low-income children
that ensure they are healthy enough to learn.
CHIP provides essential funding to support states to cover
uninsured children. Any delay or a failure to immediately extend funding for CHIP
will jeopardize coverage for children who are eligible for school-based
health-related services leading to immediate and lasting harmful effects for
America’s most vulnerable citizens. A lapse in coverage for children places
more barriers on their ability to come to school ready to learn. During a time
of great uncertainty in the healthcare system, children need the consistent,
reliable health coverage CHIP provides today.
More than half of the nearly nine million children served by
CHIP are eligible to receive services in school through their state Medicaid
programs. Fifteen states exclusively use CHIP funds to extend their Medicaid
programs, meaning all children who qualify for CHIP receive identical services
and benefits as their traditional Medicaid-counterparts. In most states a
substantial portion of children served by CHIP receive Medicaid services and
benefits protections. Districts in these States bill Medicaid for health services
they provide to CHIP eligible children. This funding stream is critical to
ensuring that healthcare services can be delivered to eligible students in the
school building.
A school’s primary responsibility is to provide students
with a high-quality education. However, children cannot learn to their fullest
potential with unmet health needs. The health services these children receive
that ensure they are healthy enough to learn. School districts depend on CHIP
to finance many of these services and have already committed to the staff and
contractors they require to provide mandated services for this school year. The
failure to continue funding CHIP would merely shift the financial burden of
providing services to the schools and the state and local taxpayers who fund
them.
Write or Call Your Representatives and Senators With the Following
Message:
- The CHIP program ensures low-income children are
healthy enough to learn by covering basic health screening, immunizations and
many other critical health services.
- Schools rely on CHIP funding to supplement the healthcare
services they provide to students. If Congress does not act quickly to extend
funding for CHIP then school districts will lose funding for the critical
health services low-income children receive that ensure they are healthy enough
to learn.
- More than half of the nearly nine million
children served by CHIP are eligible to receive services in school through
their state Medicaid programs.
- School districts depend on CHIP to finance many
of these services and have already committed to the staff and contractors they
require to provide mandated services for this current school year. The failure of
Congress to continue funding CHIP would merely shift the financial burden of
providing services to the schools and the state and local taxpayers who fund
them.
- Support the bipartisan bill to extend the CHIP program for five years in your chamber.