Every day, millions of young children enter classrooms around the country ready to read, count, and play. However, each child’s success in school and in life depends as much on factors beyond the walls of their school building as within. In addition to needing access to high-quality early learning opportunities through programs like Jumpstart, all children, especially low-income children, require basic safety, security, and health to thrive and succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Childhood and lifetime outcomes depend not only on educational opportunities, but also on access to nutritious food, housing stability, and comprehensive healthcare.
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) covers nearly 9 million children across the country — 9 million children who receive critical preventative healthcare, timely vaccinations, and lifesaving emergency services that their families would otherwise be unable to afford. Families whose incomes fall above the limit to qualify for Medicaid but make too little to afford private health coverage can receive this critical service for their children. CHIP guarantees that no matter a child’s financial background, they will receive the medical services they need to live healthy lives. On September 30, 2017, Congress allowed authorization for CHIP to lapse, and all federal funding for CHIP programs in each state and territory stopped. It is past time for Congress to right this wrong.
At Jumpstart, each year we serve over 11,000 children from low-income communities in order to develop their literacy and social-emotional skills and prepare them for kindergarten success. High-quality early learning, however, is only effective if paired with accessible healthcare so that both a child’s mind and body are ready to grow and thrive. Childhood health coverage is not only associated with long-term health outcomes, but with better reading scores, high school and college completion, economic security, and lifelong volunteerism and civic engagement. Roughly 50% of children in this country receive healthcare through Medicaid or CHIP. Since CHIP was enacted 20 years ago, our country has promised that no child, no matter their family’s financial situation, is denied access to healthcare. Children’s health must remain a national priority.
It is unacceptable that Congress would allow CHIP to lapse for even one day and yet, Congress has allowed CHIP’s funding to lapse for nearly two months. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 16 states are on track to run out of CHIP funding by the end of January. If this happens, millions of children in those states will no longer be able to afford doctor’s visits, vaccinations, and prescriptions.
Children’s health is not a political bargaining chip to be traded — it is a fundamental duty of our government. Congress must take action to fully fund CHIP today.
UPDATE 1/23/18: Thanks to thousands of child-advocates across the country, on January 22, 2018, Congress passed a 6-year fully funded extension of CHIP as part of its government funding package.
