CBO Says Funding CHIP Saves Government Billions

What’s the story?

Congress allowed funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to lapse more than 100 days ago, and have been wrangling over funding on and off ever since. But now a new report from the Congressional Budget Office, per the Washington Post, shows that funding CHIP for at least 10 years saves the federal government $6 billion, ironically because of changes to Obamacare that the GOP made in 2017.

CHIP provides health insurance to over 9 million children from low to moderate income families across the country who fall outside the income guidelines for Medicaid but still struggle to cover the cost of insurance premiums.

With the tax reform bill Congress removed the individual mandate, increasing the likelihood that more low to moderate income people will not enroll in healthcare through the Obamacare marketplaces. The very same people who would have received federal subsidies due to income levels. And those people are likely to enroll their kids in CHIP to make sure they, at least, have healthcare, reasons the CBO.

For the federal government, funding CHIP is cheaper than providing federal subsidies for private marketplace plans, so the longer Congress funds CHIP the more money they likely save the government. To the tune of $6 billion over 10 years.

In December Congress approved a six month extension for the program, and are supposedly in talks for a longer term reauthorization as part of their budget talks. Currently the government will shut down by January 19 if Congress can’t agree to a spending plan.

But CHIP doesn’t necessarily have to be part of a larger plan. Congress could authorize CHIP on it’s own. The latest numbers from the CBO have provided a strong argument for reauthorization in whatever form that legislation takes.

What do you think?

Should Congress reauthorize CHIP, as part of a larger spending plan, or separately if they can’t agree on the budget overall?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Pixnio / Creative Commons)