After Fierce Debate, Congress Extends Children's Health Insurance Program

by Precise Leads

Congress extends CHIP for six years after Democrats agree to ACA tax breaks proposed by House Republicans.

Swept up in the debate surrounding Congress’ efforts to pass a stopgap funding bill by January 19 was the fate of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a federally sponsored program that provides health insurance to 8.9 million children. After sometimes tense negotiations, Congress passed a short-term spending bill on January 22 that appropriated $124 billion for the program through 2023.

Funding for CHIP had expired on September 30. In December, Congress passed a bill authorized $2.85 billion in funding to keep the program running through March. Prior to the temporary fix, a number of states had dipped into surplus funds to maintain the program, but a report from Georgetown University warned that 11 states would exhaust CHIP funding by the end of February.

Six-Year Extension

In an effort to gain Democratic support for their proposed postponement of three taxes that help fund the Affordable Care Act (ACA), House Republicans introduced legislation that would extend CHIP for another six years. Under the GOP proposal, the medical device tax and the so-called “Cadillac” tax on high-cost healthcare plans would be delayed for up to two years.

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