Statement of ACAP CEO Margaret A. Murray on Continuation of CHIP Funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                         FOR MORE INFORMATION:

October 4, 2017                                                                      Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515

                                                                                   

STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY
ON CONTINUATION OF CHIP FUNDING

WASHINGTON—Margaret A. Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), made the following statement on the need for continuation of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Congress has not authorized new funding for CHIP beyond fiscal year 2017; states are currently spending down remaining prior allotments. More than half of all states are expected to exhaust their funding by the end of the first quarter of 2018.

 

“We’re pleased to see that Congress is making progress on CHIP funding, as the Senate has passed the bipartisan KIDS Act out of the Finance Committee by voice vote. That’s welcome progress.

 

“However, time is of the essence. We’ve already seen an emergency disbursement for Minnesota, and other states are already preparing to curtail enrollment and services for children in need should Congress be unable to reach agreement.

 

“There’s no good reason for children in need to be denied access to health coverage. Accordingly, we have sent letters of support to the Senate and House of Representatives for both the KIDS Act and the HEALTHY Kids Act, each of which promises to fund CHIP for the next five years. This is the kind of stability that states need, and security that families need.

 

“We applaud today’s progress, and urge Congress move forward with all due haste – and put an end to the avoidable, self-inflicted crises with eleventh-hour solutions that have characterized too many of these efforts in the past.”

                                                                      

About ACAP

ACAP represents 61 nonprofit Safety Net Health Plans in 29 states, which collectively serve more nearly twenty million people enrolled in Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other public health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.


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