Congress missed a Sept. 30 deadline to renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program, allowing the program to expire. CHIP provides low-cost health insurance to 9 million children covering services including routine checkups, immunizations, prescriptions and dental and vision care.

The program was created in 1997 with bipartisan support. It was designed to provide coverage for children in families with low and moderate incomes — as well as to pregnant women. After CHIP’s implementation, the percentage of uninsured children dropped from nearly 14 percent when the program began to 4.5 percent in 2015. It was last reauthorized in 2015.

CHIP was funded mainly by the federal government, with states contributing a small percentage. If Congress fails to restore the program, several states and the District of Columbia will run out of CHIP funding by the end of the year with many more draining their funds by March 2018, according to a July report from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.

The Washington Post, Oct. 1
Vox, Oct. 2