Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Texas CHIP Coalition

The CHIP program is still undergoing a lot of scrutiny in Texas as well as the United States. Texas CHIP coalition was formed in 1988 to help acquire support for the program in the state of Texas. They engage in advocacy efforts as well as educational efforts. Their website states that they work closely with the Texas Legislature on behalf of the children that are apart of the program as well as families.

The Texas CHIP coalition website offers information on the program as well as how to register. They have additional information regarding what is going on in the Texas Legislature about CHIPs and hold monthly meetings at the Texas Medical Association in Austin, Texas. Their website also offers the minutes for each meeting that they have.

According to an article by the New York Times in 2009 many states adopted the CHIP program even despite the recession. “The states' willingness to spend, even under excruciating budget pressures, is a measure of the support for expanding health care coverage to the uninsured as Congress and the Obama administration intensify their negotiations over a new federal health care bill.”

California was one of the states, like Texas, that did not adopt the program immediately. The article stated that “California officials estimate that up to 350,000 eligible children may be relegated to a waiting list, as the state grapples with its financial crisis.” Since this article was written in 2009, the losses that children have received due to no medical treatment have risen significantly in these states.

-Liane Michnoff

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