Sens. Hatch, Wyden Issues Statement on CHIP Reauthorization Bill

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 -- Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, ranking member, Senate Finance Committee, issued the following joint statement on reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance Program:

"We share a commitment to extend full funding for CHIP as soon as possible," Hatch and Wyden said in a joint statement. "In our view, a long-term, five-year extension of the KIDS Act is essential to providing certainty for families and states. While the proposed short-term patch offers some funding relief, it falls short of providing families and states the certainty they need. We will be vigilant to ensure this program isn't subject to repeated short-term fixes and constantly looming deadlines - families across the nation deserve better."

The bipartisan Keeping Kids' Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act (S. 1827 (https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/hatch-wyden-push-bipartisan-chip-bill)) passed the Senate Finance Committee by voice vote on Oct. 4, 2017. Full legislative text can be found here (https://www.finance.senate.gov/download/chip-bill-text).

The Senate Finance Committee, the committee with the largest jurisdiction in either House of Congress, oversees more than 50 percent of the federal budget and has jurisdiction over large portions of the American healthcare system, including Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP.