Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Title XXI of the Social Security Act, often referred to as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), is a program originally enacted by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA, P.L. 111–3) reauthorized CHIP and appropriated funding for CHIP through fiscal year (FY) 2013. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA, P.L. 111–148) extended CHIP funding through FY 2015, and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (P.L. 114–10) extended funding with no programmatic changes for CHIP through FY 2017. A 6-year extension of CHIP was signed into law on January 22, 2018, extending funding for the program through the end of FY 2023. On February 9, 2018, the Bipartisan Budget Act (P.L. 115–123) was signed into law, extending CHIP an additional 4 years. Consequently, CHIP is currently funded through FY 2027.

CHIP provides federal funds for states to provide health care coverage to eligible low-income uninsured children and pregnant women whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid. Generally, CHIP is available only through age 18. CHIP gives states broad flexibility in program design within a federal framework that includes important beneficiary protections. Funds from CHIP may be used for a separate child health program or to expand Medicaid. Although CHIP is not part of Medicaid, in some instances in Health, United States, data on CHIP and Medicaid are presented together, and those instances are discussed in the footnotes of the respective tables. For more information, see: https://www.medicaid.gov/chip/index.html. (Also see Sources and Definitions, Health insurance coverage; Medicaid.)