For Immediate Release: Monday, January 22, 2018
Contact: Morgan W. Grogan, morgan.williams@
Delayed GOP Vote to Extend CHIP Funding Comes at High Cost
Washington, DC – In response to the Senate extending long-term funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years, Health Care for America Now Co-Directors Ethan Rome and Margarida Jorge released the following statement:
“The families who benefit from CHIP can finally breathe a sigh of relief and have some certainty about their children’s health care. The vote to renew funding for this essential health care program is long overdue and has come at high expense. Children’s health should never be part of a political, partisan fight nor should politicians treat health care and protection for immigrant youth as items for barter.
“While Republicans spent months trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act and make cuts to critical health care programs like Medicaid, the families of nine million children have been in health care limbo worrying whether they would be able to afford life-saving medication and services. We welcome the extension of CHIP funding, but it shouldn’t take giveaways to the very wealthy and big insurance and medical device companies to ensure kids have the care they need. It certainly shouldn’t take inaction on DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which would protect America’s 800,000 DREAMers. It’s indefensible that the Republicans didn’t use this opportunity to address the urgent DACA crisis that President Trump created. We look forward to swift and strong action on DACA in the weeks ahead.
“The Republicans’ war on health care is far from over and Americans will continue to fight back at every step – whether it’s defending Medicaid and Medicare, fighting for their children’s care or protecting people with pre-existing conditions.”
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Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is the national grassroots coalition that ran a $60 million five-and-a-half year campaign from 2008-2013 to pass, protect, and promote the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and protect Medicare and Medicaid. HCAN has come back together to fight the Republicans’ all-out effort to take away America’s health care and put people at the mercy of the health insurance companies again.
