Care At Risk For About 2 Million California Kids, Pregnant Women With CHIP Expiration
California is running out of funds to pay for the Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program -- the state usually gets around $2.7 billion a year in federal money, but Congress has yet to renew the funding.
Fresno Bee:
Without Action By Congress, This Health Program For Kids And Pregnant Women Is At Risk
Tens of thousands of low-income children and pregnant women in the central San Joaquin Valley rely on a health insurance program that could lose its federal funding by the end of the year. Statewide, about 2 million children and pregnant women depend on the Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program that Congress has yet to renew for this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. In Fresno County, 53 percent of children are on Medi-Cal, which includes those on the Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program. (11/30)
The Associated Press:
Health Care Fallout: Fate Of 8M Low-Income Children In Limbo
TC Bell knows what life is like without health insurance after growing up with a mother who cobbled together care from a public health clinic, emergency room visits and off-the-books visits to a doctor they knew. That memory makes Bell, of Denver, grateful for the coverage his two daughters have now under the Children's Health Insurance Program — and concerned about its uncertain future in Congress. "There's an incredible security that I have with CHIP," said Bell, 30, who has gone back to community college to reboot his life after working a series of low-paying jobs. (Karnowski, 11/30)