Sen. Brown Applauds Bipartisan Proposal to Secure Five-Year Extension for Children’s Health Insurance Program

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 -- The office of Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, issued the following news release:

Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) applauded a bipartisan deal to extend funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), known as Healthy Start in Ohio, for five years. The deal was struck by bipartisan leaders of the Senate Finance Committee on which Brown sits. It will still have to be taken up and passed by the full Senate.

"The families I met this month shared their stories about why CHIP matters so much to families like theirs," said Brown. "I'm proud of the committee's bipartisan effort to extend funding for five more years, give these families peace of mind, and to protect healthcare for Ohio children across the state. This bipartisan cooperation is how Congress is supposed to work, and I'm hopeful the full Senate will move quickly to get the job done for Ohio families."

Earlier this month, Brown met with families in Cincinnati and Cleveland to call on Congress to pass a five-year extension of CHIP. Both the Ohio Department of Medicaid and the Ohio Children's Hospital Association have written in support of a five-year extension.

CHIP, which was created in 1997, is a joint state-federal health insurance program for low to moderate income children and pregnant women who are not Medicaid eligible. Within three years of its initial passage, all 50 states opted into the program, providing millions with access to health insurance. Nationwide, CHIP provides access to comprehensive, affordable coverage to more than eight million children and Healthy Start helps cover more than 209,000 Ohioans.

Brown led efforts in the Senate to protect CHIP and Healthy Ohio and the vital coverage they provide children and pregnant women nationwide. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 extended funding for CHIP for two years, through September of 2017.

Earlier this year, Brown secured a commitment from Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to work with Brown on extending CHIP.

Brown was the lead sponsor of the Protecting and Retaining Our Children's Health Insurance Program (PRO-CHIP) Act of 2015 in the Senate, which would have extended the program through 2019.