RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has enjoyed widespread support among both Democrats and Republicans since it was enacted in 1997; and
WHEREAS, The program, which has flourished for two decades, provides nine million children from lower income families with medical care whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid coverage; and
WHEREAS, The CHIP program has been reauthorized every five years by Congress; and
WHEREAS, In December Congress provided short-term financing for CHIP, but lawmakers have not moved to give the program another five-year allotment because Democrats and Republicans disagree on how it will be funded; and
WHEREAS, The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the program will cost $800 million; and
WHEREAS, Elimination of the program endangers the health of children by removing federal funding for their coverage which is administered by the states; and
WHEREAS, A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 16 states expect to exhaust their federal CHIP funds by the end of January and that 21 additional states expect to run out of CHIP funding by the end of March; and
WHEREAS, Some of those states have already begun freezing enrollment in preparation for shutting down parts of the program's coverage; and
WHEREAS, A lack of federal funding for the program may force parents to go without health insurance for themselves in order to pay for their children's health insurance; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council do hereby urge the United States Congress to renew funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program.
