This article is over 5 years old

Houston Matters

Will Congress Renew CHIP Before Texas Funding Runs Out?

Insurance coverage for more than 390,000 Texas children and pregnant women is in jeopardy. Patrick Bresette, executive director of the Children’s Defense Fund’s Texas office, joins us to discuss how the CHIP program works, its history, and what hurdles remain to its reauthorization.

| Posted on (Last Updated: )

Share

npr.org

Listen

To embed this piece of audio in your site, please use this code:

<iframe src="https://embed.hpm.io/1/242163" style="height: 115px; width: 100%;"></iframe>
X

Time is running out for a children's health care program in Texas. The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides low-cost health insurance for many low-income and middle-income families.

But Congressional authorization for the program expired Sept. 30, and Texas only has enough funds to run the program until February, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

Federal lawmakers say they're working to reauthorize the program before funding runs out.

Patrick Bresette, executive director of the Children’s Defense Fund's Texas office, joins us to discuss how the CHIP program works, its history, and what hurdles remain to its reauthorization.

Today in Houston Newsletter Signup
We're in the process of transitioning services for our Today in Houston newsletter. If you'd like to sign up now, fill out the form below and we will add you as soon as we finish the transition. **Please note** If you are already signed up for the newsletter, you do not need to sign up again. Your subscription will be migrated over.