CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program, is a Clinton-era program that covers around 9 million children from middle-class families across the country.  It expired on September 30, and has been under temporary funding since then. Despite that, several states are close to exhausting the stopgap money.

Despite broad bipartisan support for the program, funding it has been held up by battles over the tax bill, a funding resolution for the government, and immigration policy.

However, the CBO's recent report on an extension bill in the Senate makes it hard for even budget hawks to say no:

1. The cost of the five-year extension is $800 million, not $8.2 billion as previously estimated.
2. Extending the program for ten years, rather than five, actually saves the government $6 billion.
3. The extension would increase the deficit for two years, through 2020, and then decrease the deficit after that.

Call your Members of Congress NOW and tell them they have no excuse -- extend CHIP for ten years, protect the coverage of kids across the country, and save the government money. Children should not be made vulnerable by DC's dysfunctions.

Additional Reading

• Informational flyer about CHIP in Kansas (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• Extending CHIP for 10 years rather than 5 saves $6 billion, CBO says (Healthcare Finance News)
• CBO says Children's Health Insurance Program would cost $800 million for five years (PBS)