Tricia A. Brooks (
Health Aff (Millwood). 2017 Sep 1;36(9):1652-1655. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0929.
The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which was enacted twenty years ago, covers uninsured children who do not qualify for Medicaid but lack access to affordable coverage. Together these safety-net programs have boosted the health insurance coverage rate among US children to historic levels, exceeding 95 percent of children in 2015. However, the future of both CHIP and Medicaid is uncertain. In the current congressional debate over the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid has become a target for potential funding reductions and other changes that would undermine the scope of children's coverage. Congress has yet to act to extend CHIP funding beyond September 30, 2017, when the current appropriation expires. State and federal policy makers should act now to preserve the foundation of coverage currently in place while striving to ensure that every child in the United States has health coverage.
儿童健康保险计划（CHIP）于二十年前颁布实施，为那些不符合医疗补助条件但又无法负担得起医疗保险的无保险儿童提供保障。这些安全网计划共同将美国儿童的医疗保险覆盖率提高到历史最高水平，2015 年超过 95%的儿童都获得了医疗保险。然而，CHIP 和医疗补助计划的未来都充满了不确定性。在当前围绕《平价医疗法案》展开的国会辩论中，医疗补助计划已成为潜在资金削减的目标，以及其他可能会破坏儿童保险范围的变革的目标。国会尚未采取行动将 CHIP 的资金延长至 2017 年 9 月 30 日，也就是当前拨款到期之日以后。州和联邦政策制定者应立即采取行动，在努力确保每个美国儿童都享有医疗保险的同时，保留现有的保险基础。
