Little action expected on CHIP funding by year-end

Legislative action appears unlikely on the Children's Health Insurance Program during Congress' current lame duck session, despite ongoing pleas from advocates that federal funding for the program be extended as quickly as possible.

“I don't think we expect any movement on this before the end of the year,” said Andrew Wimer, spokesman for Rep. Joe Pitts, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health.

States will get no new federal CHIP funding after September 2015 unless Congress acts. An estimated 10.2 million now are enrolled in the program. Of those, as many as 2 million may be unable to join either Medicaid or on an exchange plan should the program end, according to researchers. 

“No matter what their views are on the Affordable Care Act, the reality is that if they (Congress) don't reauthorize funding, children will lose coverage,” said Jesse Cross-Call, a policy analyst in the health policy division of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is hosting a hearing Wednesday to discuss the future of the program, calling on witnesses from the Congressional Research Service, Government Accountability Office and the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. The hearing will largely be informational in nature, however, based on the material outlined in the testimonies posted Tuesday.

Retiring Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee's healthcare panel, agrees with advocates that urgent action is needed before Congress goes on recess later this month. He points out that many states are already putting together budgets for fiscal 2016 and so need to know if funding for CHIP will continue. Also, states need to put plans into place as quickly as possible if they will be transitioning children into Medicaid or a qualified health plan if CHIP funding isn't extended, he said.