As you have likely heard reported, Congress failed to extend Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding last week, putting children’s health at risk.
As it stands, Washington State will run out of CHIP funding in November. AAP issued this joint statement with the children’s health and advocacy community urging Congress to immediately pass a bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate, the KIDS Act of 2017, to extend CHIP funding for five years.
In an effort to convey urgency to our elected officials, AAP has updated the CHIP advocacy toolkit (online here) and is urging all AAP members and partner organizations to engage in two days of action to protect CHIP:
1. Wednesday, October 4th, which coincides with a hearing in the House, and
2. Wednesday, October 12th
By coordinating concentrated days of action for grassroots mobilizing and social media engagement, we will draw more attention to our efforts and escalate the urgency to Congress more effectively, much like we did during the ACA repeal efforts this summer.
Please take a few minutes on October 4 and October 12 to share our messages on social media and to contact Congress directly. The AAP toolkit has all the information you need, and you can get a state-specific fact sheet here.