Virginia’s Medicaid program has begun mailing letters to pregnant women and parents of children to tell them that funding for their health insurance will run out if Congress doesn’t renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.
Funding for CHIP lapsed in September. Virginia uses federal funding from CHIP to operate its FAMIS program, which gives health coverage to almost 68,500 children and more than 1,100 pregnant women, according to the
Roanoke Times.
“We are hopeful that Congress will once again provide the funding to continue this program,” the letter said. “However, because Congress has not acted yet, we need to let you know that there is a chance the FAMIS program may have to shut down.”
According to the
Times, about a third of states anticipate running out of federal funding by the end of January if Congress doesn’t renew the program.
“It is truly shameful that gridlock and dysfunction in Congress have left nearly 70,000 Virginians who depend on the FAMIS program hanging in limbo,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a release. “After delaying these notifications to give Congress as much time to act as possible, Virginia has a responsibility to these families to inform them of the possibility that their coverage could lapse so they can be as prepared as possible to explore alternatives.”
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