Los Angeles – “The Children’s Partnership strongly supports efforts in Congress to continue coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program for 9 million children across the country, including 2 million children and pregnant women in California. The CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act of 2017 (HR 3922) includes a five-year extension of the program and would help stabilize enrollment and allow states to strengthen and innovate a successful and traditionally bipartisan program.
However, we are concerned that the extension is paid for by cuts to other programs that are critical to children’s health. We oppose the use of the Prevention and Public Health Fund to pay for the extension because we value the important public health investments in prevention services, such as immunizations, lead-prevention, and public health infrastructure. We recognize that prevention is a key component to the overall health and well-being of children and the communities in which they live.
“Today, we insure a higher share of our kids than ever before—95% of children in America have health insurance through CHIP, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Delays in funding of CHIP puts at risk coverage and access to health care for millions of children and pregnant women in many of our most vulnerable communities. We urge Congress to fund CHIP and return to negotiations that continue the bipartisan history of CHIP’s 20-year-old success,” said President Mayra E. Alvarez.
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