CHIP plays a key role for those who earn too much to be eligible for Medicaid but cannot afford to purchase their own private coverage. Today, over 9.6 million children and 720,000 pregnant and postpartum people receive care through CHIP on an annual basis.
Since the enactment of CHIP, states have been able to design their own programs and provide coverage tailored to their local needs and preferences. CHIP, alongside Medicaid, has succeeded in cutting the rate of low-income uninsured children by over 50 percent and covers about half of children in the U.S. CHIP offers comprehensive benefits that are customized for children’s health. In addition, 19 states have opted to cover pregnant women through CHIP, with the goal of ensuring healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.
While CHIP was re-authorized in 2018, its funding levels are set to expire in 2023.
Because CHIP is not an “entitlement” program, Congress must actively extend the program. Without CHIP, the 9.6 million children and 370,000 pregnant women who rely on the program could be left without affordable coverage options—or lose coverage altogether.
The March of Dimes urges Congress to:
- Make CHIP permanent to preserve affordable, comprehensive high-quality care for pregnant women and children and eliminate the recurrent funding dilemma, allowing states to develop their programs in ways that best serve children and families.
- Expand CHIP income eligibility to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) in all states.
- Permanently extend Medicaid and CHIP postpartum coverage period from 60 days to 12 months.
- Expand Medicaid for individuals in states that haven’t taken up the option to 138 percent of the FPL.
- Provide 12 months of continuous health coverage for children so that they can maintain coverage throughout the year.
- Provide children continuous coverage from birth up to age 6 in Medicaid and CHIP.
- Improve enrollment with expanded outreach to families with children through culturally competent navigators, enrollment at key moments and places, simplified paperwork and elimination of bureaucratic barriers; and allowance of presumptive and express lane eligibility and a streamlined renewal of coverage.
- Reduce complexity and promote continuity of coverage for children, by eliminating waiting periods for CHIP.
Download the CHIP fact sheet
The March of Dimes urges Congress to fully fund CHIP for at least five years to ensure affordable, high quality coverage for pregnant women and children.