Buchanan says he has 6,000 reasons to fund children’s health care program

Thousands of children in Rep. Vern Buchanan’s Congressional district rely on a government-funded program for health care but Congress has yet to vote on a budget bill that would renew program funding.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides health coverage to children and families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private coverage. It is administered by states but is jointly funded by state and federal governments.

Thursday morning, President Donald Trump said the CHIP program should not be included in a short-term budget deal, but rather part of a long-term deal.

House Republicans have included a six-year renewal for the program in the short-term budget bill, but Democrats are resisting and demanding protections for some young immigrants. The deal is expected to be voted on by Congress by the end of the week. If no action is taken, the program’s funding is due to expire on March 31.

Trump tweeted Thursday he wants CHIP to be part of “a long term solution, not a 30 Day, or short term, extension!”

In a statement Thursday, Buchanan urged Congress to fully fund the program.

“We cannot allow this program to lapse and jeopardize the health of 9 million children nationwide,” said Buchanan, a longtime supporter of the federal health care program. “I am urging congressional leaders from both parties to work together on a bipartisan basis to reauthorize this critical program for six years.”

Buchanan noted 6,000 children in his congressional district, which includes Manatee and Sarasota counties, depend on the coverage provided by CHIP.

“We should not be playing politics when the health of our children is at stake,” Buchanan said.

As of October 2017, Florida has enrolled 4,318,018 individuals in Medicaid and CHIP, according to Medicaid.gov.

Manatee County has more than 3,200 children enrolled in CHIP programs as of January 2018 and Sarasota has more than 3,500. Both counties, however, saw a slight decrease in January enrollment from the month prior, according to HealthyKids.org,

There were 4,018 totally uninsured children in Manatee County in 2016, a rate of 5.7 percent. An estimated 300 children were deemed CHIP eligible. The county level data is a one year estimates based on the U.S. Census.

In Sarasota County, 3,937 children were totally uninsured in 2016 and an estimated 844 children deemed CHIP eligible.

In all of Florida, an estimated 44,876 children were deemed CHIP eligible in 2016, according to HealthyKids.org.

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Buchanan says he has 6,000 reasons to fund children’s health care program."