Before Congress left on their holiday break, they provided a patch for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that extended coverage through March.
Jennifer Calder with Montana Kids Count said 23,000 children could lose health insurance funding altogether.
“Currently, about one in three Montana children have health insurance thanks to public investment,” said Calder. “There are three components to provide coverage for children. One is Medicaid, another is what has been a separate CHIP program, and the Medicaid expansion which is funded through CHIP. We do know in Montana that CHIP does cover about 23,000 children a year with health insurance. That Medicaid expansion that’s funded through CHIP covers approximately 7,000 children, so we’re looking at about 30,000 children in total who receive coverage through CHIP funding.”