[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 118 (Thursday, August 5, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6864-S6865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today, the Children's Health Insurance 
Program turns 13. But instead of facing the difficulties of 
adolescence, CHIP is enjoying the advantages that come with being one 
of the most popular programs in the country.
  I would like to take this moment to reflect on the history of CHIP 
and to think about the role that CHIP will play in the future.
  Prior to 1997, kids of the working poor had nowhere to go to get 
health insurance. Their parents' employers didn't offer health 
insurance benefits, and the individual market offered only low-quality 
insurance options at unaffordable prices.
  Without health insurance, kids couldn't see the doctor for a checkup, 
couldn't get a prescription for an earache, and couldn't get treatment 
for common chronic conditions like asthma. Unhealthy kids can't run and 
play, can't do well in school, and can't grow into healthy and 
productive adults.
  In 1997, Congress took action to address this problem by establishing 
the Children's Health Insurance Program. And today, we celebrate 13 
years of success--expanding high quality coverage to kids all across 
the country.
  I would like to remind my colleagues of CHIP's history--its 
bipartisan roots and its tremendous success in achieving what we 
created the program to do: cover low-income, uninsured kids.
  Congress enacted the Children's Health Insurance Program as a 
bipartisan compromise back in 1997, with leadership from Senator 
Rockefeller, Senator Hatch, and the late Senators Kennedy and Chafee. 
At that time, Members of Congress wanted to address the rising number 
of children without health insurance.
  The Finance Committee reached a compromise that allowed States to set 
up Children's Health Insurance Programs that would meet their unique 
needs. CHIP is optional for States, but within just 2 years of its 
creation, all States decided to participate to address the health care 
needs of our country's most vulnerable children.
  I am proud to have helped write and pass CHIP 13 years ago. It has 
been a tremendous success.
  In its first decade, CHIP cut the number of uninsured children by 
more than a third. Today, more than 7\1/2\ million children get the 
doctor's visits and medicines they need to have a healthy childhood, 
enabling them to become healthy and productive adults.
  After 10 years of success, CHIP came up for reauthorization in 2007. 
In the summer and fall of that year, Congress worked hard to pass a 
bipartisan reauthorization package. But President Bush vetoed it twice. 
Ultimately, we had to settle for an extension.
  In January of 2009, with two of our former colleagues in the White 
House, I was thrilled to get started on a CHIP reauthorization bill as 
soon as possible. Finally, the stars had aligned--President Obama was 
looking forward to signing the CHIP reauthorization bill, and the 
Congress was prepared to act. We were finally able to deliver what 
Americans had asked for--reestablishing kids' coverage as a national 
priority.
  President Obama signed the bill on February 4, 2009. The new law 
maintained coverage for all children in the program at that time and 
started on a path to reach more than 4 million additional uninsured, 
low-income kids.
  We had a couple of goals in mind as we drafted the CHIP 
Reauthorization Act of 2009.
  We kept CHIP focused on low-income kids. We prioritized coverage of 
the lowest-income kids, but without limiting State flexibility in 
designing CHIP programs. We set up parameters to transition adults out 
of CHIP and into Medicaid or other appropriate coverage. And we also 
encouraged States to improve their outreach practices and streamline 
their enrollment procedures in order to reach all eligible kids.
  We maintained State flexibility. We gave States the option to cover 
legal immigrant children and pregnant women during their first 5 years 
in America and receive the corresponding Federal match. We also created 
a State option that allows States to designate CHIP funds to offer 
premium assistance, helping families afford private coverage offered by 
employers or other sources.
  And we improved the quality of care. The CHIP Reauthorization Act 
launched a substantial new initiative to improve children's health 
quality. This initiative invested $45 million a year for 5 years to 
develop national core measures for children's health quality, improve 
data collection in CHIP and Medicaid, and promote the use of electronic 
health records.
  The CHIP Reauthorization Act I helped to craft allowed us to cover as 
many uninsured low-income kids as possible. I made sure that we 
respected our budgetary limits, and made compromises in good faith with 
my Republican colleagues. In committee, further compromises were made 
which I hope strengthened the act even more.
  The only disappointment that came out of the 2009 CHIP 
Reauthorization Act was that we weren't able to come to agreement with 
Senators Grassley and Hatch, two colleagues that worked tirelessly to 
reauthorize CHIP in 2007. But I'm proud to say that CHIP's bipartisan 
reputation has not been marred.
  Senators on both sides of the aisle continue to support CHIP and have 
even used it as a model for other programs. And I have continued to 
work with Senator Grassley and all Senators on the Finance Committee 
overseeing the implementation of the CHIP Reauthorization Act.
  A year and a half after enactment, more than half the States have 
taken advantage of the new coverage options in the CHIP Reauthorization 
Act, including 15 States that expanded income

[[Page S6865]]

eligibility levels for CHIP or Medicaid to cover more kids. States have 
also taken advantage of the enrollment simplification options--making 
it easier for kids to get enrolled and stay covered.
  In health reform, we extended CHIP for an additional 2 years, 
ensuring that kids will have a stable source of coverage as we expand 
coverage to other groups. In 2015, Congress will revisit CHIP in a new 
context. CHIP has been instrumental in providing children with access 
to care where none existed before, but it may need to take on a 
different role as health reform is implemented.
  Whatever happens in 2015, I am confident that CHIP will continue to 
be an important part of our health system. CHIP is tried and true, and 
things just keep getting better and better in the program. As we 
celebrate CHIP's 13th birthday, we can be proud of everything Congress 
has done to provide low-income kids with high quality, affordable 
coverage.

                          ____________________