Expressing concern for the rural West Virginia families he represents, U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV) on Jan. 12 urged House leadership to incorporate long-term reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in government spending legislation expected to be taken up by Congress.
“Quality health care is critical for children in my rural Southern West Virginia district, where access to care is an ongoing issue,” Jenkins wrote in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
“This geography makes CHIP even more important to families in my home state,” Jenkins wrote. “CHIP encourages and promotes access to primary care, and there are thousands of children who rely on this program in my district.”
CHIP provides comprehensive health care, dental coverage and vaccines for approximately 8.9 million children whose families cannot access private insurance coverage yet are ineligible for Medicaid.
While Jenkins’ office noted the House approved a five-year reauthorization bill for CHIP in November 2017, the Senate has not yet passed long-term CHIP reauthorization legislation.
After federal funding for CHIP expired in September 2017, Congress passed a short-term CHIP funding extension on Dec. 21 as part of an appropriations bill to keep the government running until Jan. 19. However, some states could still run out of CHIP funds before March.
According to a Jan. 10 fact sheet from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently said it could not confirm with certainty that every state would have the funding necessary to continue its CHIP program through the end of March.
In fact, Jenkins’ letter said West Virginia families enrolled in CHIP in the 3rd District he represents have received notice that the program could end as early as Feb. 28.
Jenkins has consistently pushed congressional leaders to develop workable fixes for funding the program and has championed legislation that does so. By reaching a long-term solution to lend stability to CHIP, and in turn to the nation’s children and families, Jenkins said, “we can show that Congress stands with rural America and families across this country.”