Hickenlooper, 11 other governors call on Congress to reauthorize children’s health program
Gov.
About 75,000 children and nearly 800 pregnant women in
Colorado will run out of funding for the program in January or February, according to Governing.com, and most other states cannot fund the program past March.
Colorado
"I've co-sponsored legislation to reauthorize CHIP funding through 2022, and I'm urging my
Gardner and Bennet co-sponsored the Keeping Kids' Insurance Dependable and Secure Act in October, which would transition CHIP to a federal-state partnership and provide additional protections for low-income children. The full bill can be read here.
"CHIP is too essential to too many families for us to delay any further," Bennet said previously. "This bill would extend CHIP funding for the next five years, ensuring Colorado's children and expecting mothers who depend on the program retain access to care. We urge our colleagues to support this legislation and see that it passes for the sake of families across the country."
Colorado's Child Health Plan Plus, which is paid for through state and federal funding, is low-cost public health insurance for children and pregnant women who earn too much to qualify for Health First Colorado (Colorado's Medicaid Program), but not enough to pay for private health insurance.
Hickenlooper signed onto a letter sent to House Speaker
"We believe covering children and pregnant women without disruption is one thing we can all agree on," the letter reads. "For twenty years, this program has successfully provided vital health coverage and care to about nine million children. Without it, access to essential health services like well child exams, asthma medicine, and hospitalizations will be at risk. As health insurance premiums climb at unsustainable rates, this program gives hard-working families access to otherwise unaffordable coverage."
"In the absence of Congressional action, we have worked to protect coverage for children and pregnant women in each of our states, but we will need federal support to continue the program. Resources are nearly exhausted and some states already have begun to inform families that their children's coverage may end on
"Since its creation, CHIP has enjoyed strong bipartisan support. 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."
Other governors who signed the letter include:
Following initial passage of the
"The reason CHIP is having trouble (passing) is because we don't have money anymore," Hatch told reporters in
But, Hatch said, "We're going to do CHIP, there's no question about it in my mind," Hatch said. "It has to be done the right way."
Credit:
Wolf signs onto bipartisan letter urging Congress to reauthorize CHIP
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