Senate Finance Committee extends CHIP funding for 5 years
Bipartisan bill reduces the amount of federal matching funds included in the Affordable Care Act.
The Senate Committee on Finance has released a bipartisan CHIP bill to extend funding for the Children's Health insurance Program for five years.
Current CHIP funding expires Sept. 30.
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The bill maintains a federal matching rate of 23 percent through 2019 that was put in place under the Affordable Care Act. But in subsequent years, the matching rate falls to 11.5 percent for 2020 and then returns to a traditional CHIP matching rate for fiscal years 2021 and 2022, when the funding ends.
The bill transitions CHIP to its traditional federal-state partnership, according to Republican Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah.
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Twelve states currently don't contribute to the match due to the ACA's enhanced funding, according to The Hill.
The bill provides additional protections for low-income children and flexibility for states, Hatch said. The legislation called Keeping Kids' Insurance Dependable and Secure Act was introduced by Hatch and Democratic Ranking Member Ron Wyden of Oregon.
The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the future of CHIP earlier this month debating whether to reauthorize or extend CHIP. Without enough time before the end of the fiscal year at the end of September, the committee acted to extend CHIP funding, Hatch said.
After full Senate approval, the bill heads to the House and then to President Trump. The bill must be signed by Sept. 30 before current funding expires.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com
