Kelsey Kober
Policy Associate
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Make your voice heard to protect the 9 million kids whose health care coverage is at risk.
Kids’ Health Care Is Under Attack, Again
Make your voice heard to protect the 9 million kids whose health care coverage is at risk.
Last summer, Kids Action advocates like you stood up to protect kids' health care. And it worked -- the dangerous effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was defeated in the Senate. But we need your help again. There is a new opportunity and a serious new threat on the kids' health care front right now: the reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Graham-Cassidy bill that would drastically cut Medicaid and remove protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
The opportunity: "CHIP" in to Save Kids' Health Care
CHIP is not exactly a household name. It does not refer to the new security feature on your credit card, and it doesn't go in a cookie. But it is a big deal for low-income kids. This federal-state program covers 9 million low-income kids whose parents don't qualify for Medicaid. CHIP will expire Sept. 30 if Congress doesn't move to reauthorize it. If this happens, five states (including California and the District of Columbia) will run out of money to cover kids as early as October. Congress must act right now to keep the kids covered by CHIP -- roughly one out of 10 American kids -- from losing their care.
The threat: Reject the New Push to Repeal the Affordable Care Act
Regrettably, another partisan attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act is advancing in the Senate, so far without holding public hearings or getting a full cost estimate from the independent Congressional Budget Office. The Graham-Cassidy bill, as it is known, would eliminate federal health care spending for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act subsidies and instead transfer them to a block grant to each state. That will drastically limit the amount the states can spend on each kid and would allow states to waive the requirement that insurers cover kids and adults with pre-existing conditions at fair rates. Take action!
We have made progress in recent years, and we should not reverse course. A new U.S. Census report showed that between the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and CHIP, 95 percent of kids are covered today -- the highest percentage in American history. Making sure that America's kids have access to quality care should not be controversial.
Last summer, Kids Action advocates like you stood up to protect kids' health care. And it worked -- the dangerous effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was defeated in the Senate. But we need your help again. There is a new opportunity and a serious new threat on the kids' health care front right now: the reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Graham-Cassidy bill that would drastically cut Medicaid and remove protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
The opportunity: "CHIP" in to Save Kids' Health Care
CHIP is not exactly a household name. It does not refer to the new security feature on your credit card, and it doesn't go in a cookie. But it is a big deal for low-income kids. This federal-state program covers 9 million low-income kids whose parents don't qualify for Medicaid. CHIP will expire Sept. 30 if Congress doesn't move to reauthorize it. If this happens, five states (including California and the District of Columbia) will run out of money to cover kids as early as October. Congress must act right now to keep the kids covered by CHIP -- roughly one out of 10 American kids -- from losing their care.
The threat: Reject the New Push to Repeal the Affordable Care Act
Regrettably, another partisan attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act is advancing in the Senate, so far without holding public hearings or getting a full cost estimate from the independent Congressional Budget Office. The Graham-Cassidy bill, as it is known, would eliminate federal health care spending for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act subsidies and instead transfer them to a block grant to each state. That will drastically limit the amount the states can spend on each kid and would allow states to waive the requirement that insurers cover kids and adults with pre-existing conditions at fair rates. Take action!
We have made progress in recent years, and we should not reverse course. A new U.S. Census report showed that between the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and CHIP, 95 percent of kids are covered today -- the highest percentage in American history. Making sure that America's kids have access to quality care should not be controversial.
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