Contact:
Katie Peters
202.657.0685 (office)
202.445.4312 (mobile)
KatieP@firstfocus.net
First Focus Celebrates the Second Anniversary of Enacting the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act
Washington D.C. – Today, health care advocates celebrate a major milestone in providing low-income children access to high quality, affordable health care. On February 4, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, which provided significant new funding for states to enroll additional children in the highly successful Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
CHIP offers matching funds for state-operated programs to provide health coverage for children in families whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid, but who don’t earn enough to purchase private health insurance on their own. Since the program’s original inception in 1997, CHIP has shown remarkable results, reducing the number of uninsured children from low-income families from 23 percent in 1997, to 15 percent in 2009. Today, the program provides coverage to more than seven million low-income children. It is estimated that another 5 million children qualify for coverage under CHIP or Medicaid but are not yet enrolled.
In marking the second anniversary of CHIP’s reauthorization, Bruce Lesley, president of the bipartisan child advocacy organization First Focus, issued the following statement:
“Today our nation celebrates the huge gains made for children thanks to the successful Children’s Health Insurance Program. Together with Medicaid, CHIP serves as a cornerstone of coverage for one-third of our nation’s children. Because of CHIP, millions of children in working families are able to get the health care services they require. Indeed, no government program, since the enactment of Medicaid 45 years ago, has been more successful in improving coverage for children.
“By incorporating CHIP into the newly-enacted health reform law, our nation’s low-income families will continue to be able to provide their children with the high-quality and affordable health care services they need to grow up to be healthy, strong, and productive adults. From vaccinations and eye exams, to oral health and asthma care, CHIP ensures that kids have access to the cost-effective and comprehensive care that they need and deserve. And, because CHIP is already in place, eligible families can enroll their children in coverage immediately.
“Support for children’s health coverage among the public is overwhelming. A public opinion survey commissioned by First Focus found that providing health coverage for all children is at the top of the public’s priorities. In addition, an analysis by Watson Wyatt Worldwide confirms that children currently enrolled in CHIP have the best, most affordable care that is available. It provides comprehensive benefits to children that specifically address their unique health care needs while limiting families’ out-of-pocket costs. The evidence is clear that CHIP works very well for kids.”
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