A bill reauthorizing funding for children’s health insurance
passed the House late last week. Community Health And Medical Professionals
Improve Our Nation (CHAMPION) Act passed Friday by a vote of 242-174, largely
along party lines.
The bill reauthorizes funding for the Children's Health
Insurance Program (CHIP), which lapsed at the end of October, for an additional
five years, but pays for it by cutting provisions of the 2010 health care
law—an offset that most Democrats opposed. "Democrats strongly support
reauthorization of these programs -- but we reject the way Republicans are
paying for them," said Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee.
If Democratic opposition holds, the legislation will stall
in the Senate, where a 60-vote super majority is needed to avoid a filibuster.
Alternative funding mechanisms may need to be put in place if Republican
leadership is to find a bipartisan solution to restore funding to the popular
program.
The impasse comes at a time where lawmakers are primarily
focused on the high-profile effort to reform the tax code. Republican
leadership have said they want to accomplish the task before the end of the
year.
AHCA will continue to monitor the CHIP debate and any
changes that are made to the offsets as the bill moves through the Senate.
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