Over the weekend, Republicans let a program that provides health insurance for over nine million low-income children expire. It’s called the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and it’s a big part of why 93% of children have health insurance in our country.
Here’s what happened: funding for CHIP is not permanent and must be renewed by Congress from time to time. Democrats and Republicans had largely settled on a bipartisan deal to renew the funding before GOP leaders foolishly attempted one last try at forcing Trumpcare on the American people.
Their cruel focus on repealing the Affordable Care Act meant CHIP was ignored for most of September. But these nine million kids, more than two million in California alone, shouldn’t have to pay the price of Congress’ inaction. We must renew CHIP before funding runs out in the states, which is why I’m asking:
The good news is that there is still time for Congress to correct this injustice, but only if Republican leaders act quickly. Millions of kids are at risk of losing their care, and the chaos and uncertainty that creates for them and their families is unacceptable.
For all the partisan rancor, surely we can come together to do right by the most vulnerable among us: our kids.
Thanks for taking action today.
Kamala Harris
U.S. Senator, California
