(WASHINGTON, D.C) – Today, Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) joined Reps. Susan Wild (PA-07) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) in introducing the bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program Pandemic Enhancement and Relief (CHIPPER) Act to increase support for state Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) during the COVID–19 emergency. National enrollment in CHIP continues to increase as a result of this pandemic yet federal funding for the program will be cut in October of this year.
“As this pandemic continues to inflict a level of stress and uncertainty on our nation’s families that is unparalleled in modern times, ensuring access to comprehensive health insurance for children is of the utmost importance,” Wild said. “We have to take commonsense steps to protect America’s families for the duration of this pandemic – and we can start by ensuring our children have access to the health care they need and deserve. I’m proud of this legislation which makes good on our promise to keep putting America’s families first.”
“The CHIPPER Act will help provide much needed coverage for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Fitzpatrick said. “So many families and children depend on CHIP for critical medical care. Our children are our future, and we must make sure that they have access to the care they need during this pandemic and its aftermath.”
In 2018, Congress increased the CHIP Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) by 11.5 percent. This increase expires at the end of this fiscal year, meaning that support for CHIP may decline at the same time states are struggling against a public health emergency.
The CHIPPER Act calls for support of CHIP through safeguarding the program’s FMAP for states in a way that is consistent with Medicaid FMAP standards under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This legislation, which supports and strengthens CHIP’s FMAP for states, will help ensure critical access to health insurance that provides comprehensive coverage for children, including coverage for vaccines and mental health services.
“As Pennsylvania and the nation navigate a public health emergency and the accompanying economic uncertainty, availability of reliable, affordable health coverage is more important than ever,” said Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. “Continuing current levels of federal support for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will allow Pennsylvania and other states to uphold CHIP as an option for Pennsylvania families so we do not see a growth in children going uninsured and without care necessary to help them lead healthy lives. I am grateful to Representative Wild and Representative Fitzpatrick for advocating for families who rely on CHIP and preserving this option for families around the nation.”
The CHIPPER Act is also originally cosponsored by Reps. Mike Doyle (PA-18), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Katie Porter (CA-45), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Joseph D. Morelle (NY-25), Tim Ryan (OH-13), Darren Soto (FL-09), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Cindy Axne (IA-03), Conor Lamb (PA-17), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Elaine Luria (VA-02), Abby Finkenauer (IA-01), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), John B. Larson (CT-01), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Anthony G. Brown (MD-04), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), TJ Cox (CA-21), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Michael F. Q. San Nicolas (Guam), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), Jim Costa (CA-16), André Carson (IN-07), Jason Crow (CO-06), and Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11).
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