State CHIP programs at risk without federal action

MACPAC estimates that, without federal extension of funding for the CHIP program, all states will run out of funds by July of next year. Three states and the District of Columbia will run out of CHIP funds by the end of this year without federal action. Created by Congress in 1997, the CHIP program has provided coverage to 3.67 million children across the US living in families with incomes just over the Medicaid limit. Like Medicaid, CHIP is jointly funded by states and the federal government, but is administered by states. Current CHIP funding expires on September 30^th of this year. The program has bipartisan Congressional support but advocates are concerned that legislation to extend CHIP could serve as a vehicle to cut Medicaid or repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act.