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Which States Face the Most Severe CHIP Funding Challenges?

News  |  By Jack O'Brien  
   December 21, 2017

View the list of all 50 states and the District of Columbia to see when they are likely to run out of federal funding for low-income children’s healthcare coverage. 

Congress is signalling it will wait until next year to address long-term funding of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), even as numerous states face the financial crunch from a lack of federal aid.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said long-term CHIP funding will not be voted on before the end of the year. Currently, Congress is working to pass a short-term continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown on Friday at midnight.

This comes as Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families reported this week that 2 million children could lose their health coverage in January if CHIP funding is not restored. The study indicated several states are operating off dwindling financial reserves while some are nearing full exhaustion of the emergency funds.

“Twenty-five states are projected to have insufficient funds to cover children beyond January 2018,” according to the report. “In these states, some children may be protected by the Maintenance of Effort provision in Medicaid. However, 1.9 million children enrolled in separate CHIP programs are at risk of losing coverage in January 2018. By the end of February, this number grows by another million children.”

The House of Representatives is voting Thursday afternoon on a package that would fund the government through January 18 and include nearly $3 billion for CHIP to operate through March. The Senate has not presented a plan to fund CHIP, despite Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s tweet Monday calling for the funding to be renewed.

Supporters have been seeking a five-year funding plan for CHIP, which provides healthcare access to children from low-income families with income too high to qualify for Medicaid. CHIP has enjoyed widespread bipartisan support since its inception in 1997, but a vote to renew its funding did not occur before the fiscal deadline September 30.

Currently, 9 million children are enrolled in CHIP, which costs $15 billion annually.

Alabama announced the suspension of enrollment for its CHIP program and that 7,000 children will lose coverage on New Year’s Day. Connecticut, meanwhile, announced the closing of its CHIP program on January 31, 2018 if funds are not restored by then.   

HealthLeaders Media has compiled a table based on information from Georgetown, MACPAC and the Kaiser Family Foundation to highlight the number of separate CHIP enrollees expected to lose coverage in the coming months. The table lists when each state's funds are expected to be exhausted and whether its governor signed a letter urging Congress to fully fund the program.

Three states, in particular, are facing some of the most severe challenges to maintain coverage options for low-income children, as summarized below.

Colorado

Last month, Colorado issued letters urging parents to begin researching private insurance options due to potential financial shortfalls of its CHIP program. The state said its Children’s Health Plan Plus (CHP+) was likely to run out of funds by January 31 and leave more than 76,000 children without coverage. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper co-signed a letter to Congress urging for the restoration of funding for the program.

Virginia

The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services followed Colorado’s lead by warning families last week about the funding shortages. The letter informed families that if Congress did not renew funding the state’s CHIP program, FAMIS, would not continue after January 31, 2018. In addition to the service announcements, Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe was a co-signer on the letter to Congress.

Arizona

Medicaid projections show the state may not have enough funding to end the year, despite receiving nearly $22 million in redistribution funds. Arizona health officials initially believed the state would have enough funding to last until March. If Congress does not approve new funding, more than 3,000 Arizonans will lose their health coverage.  

Separate CHIP Funding Exhaustion Chart

(Note: italics indicate governor cosigned letter to Congress) 

State CHIP Enrollees Exhaustion Date
AL 96,650 Feb. 28
AK 15,600 Feb. 28
AZ 3,207 Jan. 1
AR 73,488 March 31
CA 118,016 Jan. 31
CO 76,229 Jan. 31
CT 25,551 Jan. 31
DE 17,622 Jan. 31
D.C. 50 Jan. 31
FL 201,703 Jan. 31
GA 166,948 Jan. 31
HI 25,780 Jan. 31
ID 28,018 Jan. 31
IL 202,071 (Did not report)
IN 36,624 April 30
IA 63,078 Feb. 28
KS 63,306 (Did not report)
KY 38,036 Jan. 31
LA 13,671 Jan. 31
ME 9,015 (Did not report)
MD 137,592 Feb. 28
MA 113,737 Jan. 31
MI 5,306 Feb. 28
MN 3,321 Jan. 1
MS 55,578 Apr. 30
MO 38,204 Apr. 30
MT 30,530 Feb. 28
NE 2,891 April 30
NV 44,847 Jan. 31
NH 17,946 Jan. 31
NJ 129,746 Feb. 28
NM 19 April 30
NY 424,976 Jan. 31
NC 110,856 Jan. 31
ND 4,955 Feb. 28
OH 223,583 Jan. 31
OK 10,814 Feb. 28
OR 98,475 Jan. 31
PA 238,317 Jan. 31
RI 1,447 Feb. 28
SC 81,574 April 30
SD 4,427 Feb. 28
TN 89,934 April 30
TX 719,612 Feb. 28
UT 29,267 Jan. 31
VT 5,305 Feb. 28
VA 102,975 Jan. 31
WA 66,517 Jan. 31
WV 30,929 Feb. 28
WI 75,098 Feb. 28
WY 5,813 April 30

(Data based off Kaiser Family Foundation and Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families projections)

Jack O'Brien is the Content Team Lead and Finance Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.


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