Washington, D.C., Sept. 25, 2007
– The American Public Health Association (APHA) urges all members of the House and Senate to vote in favor of pending legislation to
reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The CHIP legislation that is up for vote in Congress is the result of intense negotiations and represents a bipartisan compromise aimed at protecting the health of those children most in need. The legislation will preserve health coverage for the nearly 6.6 million children currently covered by the program, and will provide the same coverage to millions of additional children in need over the next five years.
“We thank congressional leadership for working together in a bipartisan manner on this important public health legislation,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of APHA. “The new legislation not only builds on what has been done, but goes a step further to ensure that all children get a healthy start in life. We urge members of Congress to do the right thing and support this legislation.”
The bill will also provide improved benefits to enrolled children including quality dental coverage, parity in mental health coverage and medically necessary benefits for low-income children.