According to a new report recently released by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families; in 2013, for the first time in recent history, the uninsured rate for children did not significantly decline from the previous year.
Yet in the past five years, the number of uninsured children declined substantially from just under 6.9 million to just over 5.2 million in large part due to the success of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in covering children. Whether this promising five year trend in children’s coverage continues, stalls, or reverses itself will be influenced by numerous factors and forthcoming policy decisions—including, most notably, whether or not Congress extends funding for CHIP in 2015. (Georgetown University Center for Children and Families)
In Virginia CHIP, which is known as FAMIS , provides affordable medical and dental insurance coverage to nearly 200,000 children and pregnant women in Virginia. Famis, along with Medicaid, has helped reduce the number of uninsured children in Virginia by 24% from 2008 to 2013. CHIP funding will expire on September 30, 2015, unless Congress acts to extend funding. If funding expires, an estimated 104,000 children in Virginia will be at risk of losing their health insurance, which provides comprehensive coverage for mental health services in addition to primary care and dental benefits. (Voices for Virginia’s Children)
