Hundreds of children across the four-county region will have government-funded health coverage –– at least until February.
Federal lawmakers are a step closer to reauthorizing money for the Children’s Health Insurance Program –– but not quick enough, said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.
“In communities across Pennsylvania, our children rely on this program for their health care. In McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter counties alone, over 1,000 children currently enrolled in CHIP are depending on Congress for action,” he said in a statement.
But because of the reauthorization approval by the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, no one is anticipating shortfalls or lags in funding for CHIP funding for Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the United States, said Kasia Mulligan, communications director U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s office.
“Sen. Toomey (R-Pa.) does have some very significant concerns about this CHIP legislation due to the fact that it permits appropriators in the House and Senate to continue treating CHIP like a slush fund, diverting 30 percent of the program’s money away from CHIP,” she said. “Over the past seven years, appropriators have raided CHIP to the tune of $42 billion for programs having nothing to do with children’s healthcare.”
CHIP expired Sept. 30, a program that serves 8.9 million children across the country. Locally, as of September, McKean County had 469 children enrolled in the program; Elk County, 366; Potter County, 200; and Cameron County, 43, according to the state Department of Human Services.
CHIP would continue without disruption until February, said Rachel Kostelac, spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services.
“We would notify families at least 30 days before the date the program terminates for lack of funding,” she said. “The department urges Congress to reauthorize CHIP so that 176,241 Pennsylvania children can continue to receive health insurance.”
Last week, U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., along with other lawmakers, urged quick action on CHIP before it expired.
“Ensuring that children have access to high-quality health insurance coverage during their formative years yields an abundance of positive outcomes,” the letter from the lawmakers states. “Research suggests that children insured through CHIP are more likely to complete college, maximize their earning power, and experience better health outcomes as adults, with fewer hospitalizations.”
How the reauthorization measure would be funded is in dispute, according to an Associated Press report, and when the full Senate would take up the measure is unknown. The chamber goes into recess next week, and the House will be on break the following week, the AP reported.
