Upton, Committee Advance Critical Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization

Statement

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, and his colleagues on the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently advanced 10 pieces of legislation including H.R. ___, the HEALTHY KIDS Act. This legislation would extend funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through Fiscal Year 2022. The Committee also cleared legislation that would extend funding and make improvements for Community Health Centers.

"The HEALTHY Kids Act is an important public health bill that keeps our promise to the most vulnerable among us." Upton said. "If Michigan's CHIP program, which currently has more than 39,000 low-income children enrolled, is not extended soon it would be disastrous for our communities. We must work together to reauthorize this critical program. This legislation is good for Michigan children and families and I will continue to work hard to get the job done for them. I am also pleased we are working to extend funding for Community Health Centers, which serve thousands here in Southwest Michigan."

Background: CHIP, enacted in 1997, provides health coverage to targeted low-income children and pregnant women in families with an annual income above Medicaid eligibility levels but have no health insurance. Federal funding for CHIP expired September 30, 2017. States are currently using unspent FY 2017 CHIP allotments and redistributed funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to cover current spending needs for CHIP programs. In 2013, Upton helped broker the bipartisan, bicameral deal that lead to the last reauthorization of CHIP.

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