U.S. Representative Urges Texas Lawmakers Not to ‘Shortchange’ State’s CHIP Program

Rep. Ken Bentsen (D-Texas) on Jan. 22 urged Texas lawmakers not to "shortchange" the state's CHIP program, which faces an estimated $29 million shortfall this year, the Houston Chronicle reports. Texas officials have considered plans to limit enrollment in the program or to require children to reapply for the program twice a year, rather than once (Robison, Houston Chronicle, 1/22). State law requires officials to halt enrollment in CHIP -- a separate, non-Medicaid program -- "if it starts to run out of money," Jason Cooke, the program's director, said (Scharrer, El Paso Times, 1/23). However, during a Jan. 22 Texas House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Bentsen, testifying before the panel, said that proposals to halt enrollment in the program could "cost the state millions of dollars in federal matching revenue" (Houston Chronicle, 1/22). The state receives about $70 in federal money for every $30 it spends on the program. Bentsen said that by not "taking full advantage of federal matching funds, Texas is leaving money on the table for other states" and "creating a burden on local taxpayers who get stuck with the costs of treating uninsured children in the emergency rooms at public hospitals." Several state lawmakers also "vowed to fight any efforts to maker it harder" to enroll in the program (El Paso Times, 1/23).