KHI

TOPEKA – The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 created the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover uninsured, low-income children who are not eligible for Medicaid. All states, including Kansas, have expanded children’s coverage through the program. Congress last reauthorized CHIP in 2015, but funding was approved only through September 30, 2017.

On September 12, 2017, Senate Finance Committee leadership announced a bipartisan plan to extend CHIP for five more years. However, if the reauthorization deal falters in either the Senate or the House, CHIP funding could still expire.

The Kansas Health Institute has published an issue brief that examines how Kansans could be impacted by federal decisions regarding CHIP.

• Unless Congress acts soon, authorization for federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program will end on September 30, 2017, impacting approximately 38,000 low-income children in Kansas.
• If funding is not reauthorized, states with separate CHIP programs, such as Kansas, could choose to wait before terminating their programs, or they could plan to transition children to other coverage options.
• If CHIP is not reauthorized, states can spend carryover and redistributed funds in federal fiscal year 2018. Kansas’ federal funds likely
  would be exhausted by the end of March 2018.
• The Senate proposal to extend CHIP five years would preserve an additional 23 percent in federal match rate for CHIP through 2019.

The Kansas Health Institute delivers credible information and research enabling policy leaders to make informed health policy decisions that enhance their effectiveness as champions for a healthier Kansas. The Kansas Health Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy and research organization based in Topeka, established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation.