States planning for worst after Congress fails to renew CHIP funding

In statehouses around the country, officials are preparing for the worst as lawmakers in Washington struggle to find money for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which insures nearly nine million children but lost its spending authority on Sunday, with the start of the new fiscal year  (Source: “States Gird for Worst as Congress Wrestles with Children’s Insurance Program,” New York Times, Oct. 3, 2017)

Most states still have unspent funds that will last several months. But some are drafting contingency plans in case Congress does what it has done so often: fails to reach an agreement. A federal panel that advises Congress on the Children’s Health Insurance Program says that more than half the states are expected to exhaust all their CHIP funds within six months.