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RIte Care, Rhode Island's high-quality Medicaid/CHIP managed care health insurance program, provides many low-income children and families in our state with affordable, comprehensive health coverage.
The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides important funding and coverage to
27,000 Rhode Island children in the RIte Care program and
9 million children in the United States, including many with special needs and chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma. Now the future of that coverage is under immediate threat by the failure of Congress to pass a clean, 5-year extension of CHIP.
Congress allowed permanent funding for CHIP to expire on September 30 - despite a history of bipartisan support.
Anything less than fully funding CHIP puts children and families at risk. It doesn't give states the certainty they need to fund kids' health coverage and plan their budgets as they head into their new legislative sessions. And it leaves parents worrying about health care for their kids.
As part of any new budget agreement,
Congress must renew CHIP funding for the full 5 years that leaders on both sides of the aisle have agreed to. States can't rely on limited patchwork funding and families can't afford to go without coverage for their kids.
Congress, it's past time to put our nation's children above politics. If you truly support CHIP, fully fund it now. The future of 9 million children across the United States is at stake.
Rhode Island's Congressional Delegation is in strong support of CHIP, however, please contact advocates you know in other states and have them call their members of Congress at 1.877.233.9025.
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