Introduction -

CHIP covers nearly 9 million children and is a key contributor to record-low levels of uninsurance among children. However, Congress only provided funding for CHIP through FY 2017, which ended September 30. After a series of short-term patches that left states with a great deal of uncertainty, Congress passed a six-year extension of CHIP in January. Three weeks later, on February 9, Congress extended the program for another four years, reauthorizing the program through FY 2027. This issue brief summarizes key features of the 10-year CHIP extension.

Overview of Congressional Activity to Extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program -

This fall, the House and Senate advanced legislation to extend CHIP funding. Both bills would have extended CHIP funding for five years and generally maintained the current structure of CHIP. One notable exception is that both bills phased out the enhanced CHIP-matching funds authorized under the ACA (a 23 percentage point bump) beginning in FY 2020. However, neither bill advanced in Congress and, as a growing number of states faced funding shortfalls, Congress instead acted twice to authorize the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to redistribute unused prior-year CHIP funds to states facing the most pressing need for funding. In December, Congress also provided $2.85 billion for CHIP funding for the first two quarters of FY 2018 (retroactive back to October 1, 2017 through March 31, 2018). These stop-gap measures, however, left many states facing funding shortages in January and February, due to the manner by which funds were allotted and the rate of state spending.