Hatch, Wyden Applaud Committee Passage of CHIP Bill

Senate Finance Committee Advances Five-Year CHIP Funding Extension

WASHINGTON — Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today praised committee advancement of the Keeping Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act (S. 1827), which passed by voice vote. The bipartisan legislation extends funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for five years, and over time, transitions CHIP to its traditional federal-state partnership, and provides additional protections for low-income children and flexibility for states.

“Today’s advancement of the KIDS Act is an important step toward ensuring the children and families who rely on CHIP do not see a lapse in health coverage,” Hatch said. “Extending funding for CHIP has been a top priority of this committee, and I am pleased to see the committee advance this policy today. I will continue to work with Ranking Member Wyden and my colleagues to further advance this bill in a fiscally responsible manner to provide certainty for this critical, bipartisan program.”

“Today the Finance Committee has taken an important and decisive step towards extending funding for CHIP,” Wyden said. “Congress must get a CHIP bill to the president’s desk as soon as possible – every day that goes by without action means more harmful consequences for families and states. I look forward to working with Chairman Hatch and members on both sides of the aisle to get CHIP across the finish line for kids and their families.”

The Keeping Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act would:

Extend CHIP funding through fiscal year (FY) 2022;
Maintain federal matching rate at current statutory levels through FY 2019, change to 11.5 percent for FY 2020, and return to a traditional CHIP matching rate for fiscal years 2021 and 2022; and
Create protections and flexibility under the maintenance-of-effort provision.

The full legislative text can be found here.

The Chairman’s Mark can be found here.

The score of the bill can be found here.

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