A program that provides healthcare for needy children has expired because Congress has failed to approve its reauthorization – a vote that was expected to be routine.
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which affects nine million children and their mothers and provides prenatal care for low-income women, expired on Sept. 30. There is no vote scheduled on it in either chamber.
There’s still no schedule for a vote on CHIP in either chamber on Capitol Hill. News sources say a reauthorization proposed this week failed to move forward in the House because Republicans inserted language into it that would remove money from a public health fund under the Affordable Care Act – and Democrats objected.
Unless CHIP is renewed, and quickly, states like Utah and Minnesota will be forced to suspend their programs.
