Pediatricians Group: Congress Should Fund CHIP

An Illinois pediatricians’ group is calling on Congress to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. 

Jenny Pinkwater is executive director of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She says the CHIP program helps children of the working poor. "So those families who are working jobs who may not qualify or the jobs may not offer family insurance, but also make too much to qualify for Medicaid; so it’s really a bridge between Medicaid and private insurance," Pinkwater said.

Pinkwater added CHIP allows doctors to see more children, track their development and give preventive care.

But the program expired September 30, and Congress has yet to agree on further funding. If Congress doesn’t re-authorize CHIP, the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services says Illinois’ funding could run out in a year, and the state would either have to fund the program on its own or end the health coverage for children.