CHIPS funding running out in many states; Mississippi still has time

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo)

Dec. 17--Mississippi has time left on the clock for the Children's Health Insurance Program, but other states are starting to scramble.

Reuters reported this week that many states are facing funding issues because Congress has not reauthorized the program that provides health insurance for children in families that make too much to qualify for Medicaid but can't afford private insurance. Virginia sent out notices this week that its CHIP program will end Jan. 31 without new federal funding. Connecticut is due to mail similar notices. More than a dozen states, including New York and Utah, are poised to send warning notices to families by the end of this month.

Mississippi officials have estimated they have funding for CHIP through the end of April.

Across the country, nearly 9 million children are affected. In Mississippi, about 80,000 children rely on CHIP to access health care.

The program, enacted in 1997, has enjoyed bipartisan support. It has been extremely successful in significantly reducing the number of children without health insurance coverage. Measures are moving in Congress, and Mississippi's senators said they believe a solution will be found.

"The CHIP program is important for thousands of families across Mississippi, and its reauthorization is a high priority for me," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., in a statement. "I am confident that a long-term agreement will be reached soon to avoid unnecessary funding shortfalls and give parents peace of mind this holiday season."

Senator Thad Cochran, R-Miss., who serves as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is optimistic that a long-term CHIP reauthorization will soon be approved, a spokesman said.

The Dec. 8 continuing resolution that funded the federal government through Dec. 22 provided greater flexibility in shifting funds for states that were exhausting CHIP funding.

Reuters reported lawmakers had hoped to pass a five-year CHIP funding extension before they adjourned for the year. But aides in the House of Representatives and the Senate say they may not get to it until early 2018.

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