If Congress Doesn't Fund CHIP, Thousands Of Pregnant Texans Will Lose Health Insurance, Too
If Congress doesn’t reauthorize funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) soon, it's not just Texas children who could lose access to health insurance; thousands of pregnant women could lose coverage, too.
Texas doesn't run the program without federal funding, and officials say it's set to run out of money Jan. 31. By law, state officials must give families 30 days' notice that the program is shutting down, so families could be getting letters next month.
Besides the 450,000 children in Texas who receive health care through the program, about 35,000 pregnant women here also rely on CHIP for prenatal and postpartum care. These are mostly women who don’t make a lot of money, but who don’t qualify for Medicaid.
Anne Dunkelberg, an associate director with the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities, says the program covers mostly immigrant women – both undocumented and documented.
Read more: http://kut.org/post/if-congress-doesnt-fund-chip-thousands-pregnant-texans-will-lose-health-insurance-too
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