The Purpose of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Topics: Economics

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is a federal and state funding program that provides low-cost health coverage for uninsured individuals under the age of nineteen. It helps families whose earnings are above Medicaid qualification but are not enough to purchase private insurance coverage for their children. Many of the enrolled families can receive free coverage, but families whose income is beyond the limit for free CHIP are provided with reduced and full-cost coverages. It allows families to pay lower monthly charges and small co- payments.

The Children‘s Health Insurance Program builds on Medicaid, which provides an accessible, extensive insurance alternative for their children in households that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid The lower premiums of the Children’s Health Insurance Program make it simpler for families to afford health insurance coverage.

The reduced cost-sharing makes it more convenient for families to bring their children to health professionals as welll During the Clinton administration, the Children’s Health Insurance Program was established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

In 1997, Congress passed the Title XXI of Social Security Act, which allowed states to create programs for the country’s increasing number of uninsured children. Ten million children were without health insurance in 1997, many of whom belonged to working families with incomes slightly higher than the Medicaid eligibility requirements. The Children’s Health Insurance Program is administered by the state. which means that each state sets its guidelines on eligibility and services. The Children’s Health Insurance Program in Pennsylvania is provided by health insurance companies that are licensed and regulated by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and have contracts with the commonwealth to offer CHIP coverage.

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All countries have considerably extended child coverage up to at least 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guideline in the program, In each state, the number of lowincome kids determines how much money is provided to the states. Each state is allowed the option to expand their existing Medicaid program, develop a distinct CHIP program, or choose a mixture of both. The Children’s Health Insurance Program is a block grant program, which means a fixed amount is appropriated for a specified period and allocated to states in a specific manner. Congress must act on a regular basis to extend the financing for the program, which annually serves almost nine million children and pregnant women. Each state receives an allocation based on anticipated spending. States generally have two years to spend the funds, and then unused funds go into a pool of redistribution that may be reserved to cover states with shortfalls. CHIP is jointly funded by the federal and state govemments but with capped funding. and it is permanently authorized, but funding must be renewed.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act was signed by President Barack Obama in April 2009 and expanded the financing of the program to 2013, The Affordable Care Act contained provisions to strengthen the program and extended funding until September of 2015, In 2018, congress extended the program funding until 2023 for renewal. The Children’s Health Insurance Program will use the information provided in the application as well as other federal and state databases to determine if the child is eligible. To determine family revenue under the Affordable Care Act, Chip utilizes calculations based on federal income tax regulations with some modifications. Once registered, child coverage under the Children’s Health Insurance Program is ensured for twelve months unless they no longer meet the fundamental eligibility criteria.

Every year, families need to renew their coverage to continue the chip coverage of their child. Ninety days before the advantages are expected to end, CHIP insurance companies will send renewal notices, Families must fill out the renewal application and send back to the insurance company to continue coverage. The Children’s Health Insurance Program provides services specifically tailored to the health and developmental needs of children that would otherwise be difficult for the modest- income families to afford. The children benefiting from this program are children with special needs for health care, children with working families, children of color, and children residing in rural communities CHIP covers extensive children’s benefits, including dental care, often excluded from private health insurance. All the programs from CHIP covers physical, occupational. mental health care, and speech and language barriers without limit; It provides strong financial protection for low-income families and out-of-pocket exposure is greater in subsidized Marketplace coverage CHIP has far better access to primary and preventive care and fewer unmet health needs than uninsured children.

In 2013, Congress expanded CHIP coverage to uninsured low-income pregnant females and their unborn babiest In 2014, the General Assembly introduced the Show Me Health Babies Program and it began covering women and unborn babies in 2016. The Children’s Health Insurance Program considerably extended U.Si children’s health care coverage and offered child safety net coverage during financial downturns in working families. It has also helped to decrease coverage disparities affecting low-income kids and color kidsi CHIP today covers almost 9 million kids, It’s a main reason why the rate of uninsured kids today is so small, and without it millions more kids would be uninsured in our country. Improving coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program has led to significant gains for low-income children in access to care and quality care.

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The Purpose of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). (2023, Mar 13). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/the-purpose-of-the-children-s-health-insurance-program-chip/

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