The Future Of CHIP: The KIDS Act Of 2017

As this particular moment, when the future of Medicaid—the nation’s largest public insurer of low-income children—is once again under threat, it might strike some as paradoxical to be reviewing a bill whose title is “Keep Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure Act of 2017.” Introduced on September 18 by Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden, the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, respectively, the KIDS Act (S. 1827) would extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program through Fiscal Year 2022. Exactly when, and in what fashion, a CHIP funding extension might advance is unclear, although without question the emergence of a bipartisan proposal from the leading members of the Senate committee of jurisdiction comes as a welcome sign. The Need For Extended CHIP Funding Funding for CHIP officially runs out on September 30, in less than two weeks. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), which advises Congress on federal Medicaid and CHIP policy, previously has estimated that by summer 2018, all states will have exhausted their federal allotments. But programs providing essential public benefits to people cannot simply close down overnight; either as a practical or operational matter; in states that run CHIP separately rather than as an extension of Medicaid, the funds technically might still be there, but the steps needed to start closing the program would need to begin much sooner unless the state is willing...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Insurance and Coverage Medicaid and CHIP Source Type: blogs