Spending Deal Offers Short-Term CHIP Relief

The future of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is still uncertain, but Congress has provided some short-term relief to the states. The spending bill signed by President Trump on Friday, which averts a shutdown and will keep the federal government running until Dec. 22, allows the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reallocate any unused federal funds to the states most at risk of running out of CHIP money by the end of the month. This is the latest cash infusion the feds are giving states since Congress let the program, which has a history of bipartisan support, expire in October.