Children’s insurance, other health programs funded — for now — in bill

The bill passed by Congress late Thursday to keep most of the federal government funded for another month also provided a temporary reprieve to a number of health programs in danger of running out of money, most notably the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.

Funding for CHIP technically expired Oct. 1. States have been operating their programs with leftover funds provided by the Department of Health and Human Services since then. But nearly half of the states were projected to run out of money entirely by the end of January, putting health coverage for nearly 2 million children at risk by that point.

The funding provided by Congress for CHIP — $2.85 billion — is for six months, but it is back-dated to Oct. 1, so it will run out at the end of March 2018. The program covers 9 million children across the country.

This week, Alabama announced it would curtail enrollment and renewals starting Jan. 1, and start disenrolling children currently in the program Feb. 1. On Friday, the state posted a notice on its website that those plans were now canceled. Several other states, including Colorado, Virginia and Utah, have begun the process of notifying families that their coverage could end unless Congress acts.

The funding bill also provided a temporary reprieve for a raft of other health programs that were running out of money, most notably the nation's community health centers, which provide basic primary care to 27 million Americans. Many centers are already freezing hiring, laying off staff and closing sites due to the uncertain funding stream from Washington.

Other health programs that were set to expire but have been funded, for now, include the National Health Service Corps, which places health practitioners in medically underserved areas, and the teaching health centers program, which trains medical residents in community health centers.

Backers of CHIP complain that short-term funding fixes are disruptive to the program.

"By failing to extend long-term funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, Congress falls far short of the reassurance and relief families deserve," said a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A coalition of children's groups, including the Children's Defense Fund and the March of Dimes, agreed, saying the short-term funding "only causes more chaos and confusion on the ground."

Both Republicans and Democrats strongly support CHIP, which was created in a 1997 budget bill. What they disagree on is whether its funding — expected to be roughly $8 billion over the next 10 years — should be paid for by cutting other health programs. The House in November passed a five-year renewal that would finance CHIP primarily by reducing the Affordable Care Act's Prevention and Public Health Fund and by raising some people's Medicare premiums. Democrats question why CHIP needs to have its funding offset while Republicans are adding $1.4 trillion to the deficit through their tax cut bill.

KHN's coverage of children's health care issues is supported in part by the Heising-Simons Foundation.