Call to Action: January 17, 2018
FUND CHIP AND CHCF NOW
#FundCHIPNow
#FundCHCFNow
#Resist
In 2017 the number of Americans without health insurance increased.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-pulse/2018/01/16/after-3-year-decline-the-uninsured-rate-went-up-in-2017-074232
That number will rise if Congress doesn’t fully fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Community Health Center (CHC) Fund.
CHIP and CHCF funding is languishing in the Senate. The House-passed legislation offsets CHC Fund costs by cutting the grace period for paying premiums and zeroing out some health programs. As for CHIP, Republican co-author of CHIP Sen. Orrin Hatch claimed that “we don’t have money anymore.” What?!?
Now the Congressional Budget Office says that extending CHIP for ten years could SAVE $6 billion. https://slate.com/business/2018/01/extending-chip-for-10-years-would-reduce-the-deficit-by-usd6-billion.html
Rising premiums – caused by repealing ACA’s individual mandate — make CHIP cheaper to subsidize than private plans. These savings make funding CHIP and the $3.6 billion CHC Fund easy.
We must save CHIP and CHC:
• CHIP covers 9 million children and pregnant women
• CHIP has cut kids’ insurance rates in half
• The CHC Fund underwrites medically underserved communities
• The CHC Fund covers 70% of budgets for clinics on the front line of the opioid crisis
With the new CBO estimate, Congress has no excuse.
Fully fund CHIP and the CHC Fund!
No cost offsets!
**ACTION 1: Call Congressman Walden and out Senators**
(Leave a message if you can’t get through.)
SAMPLE SCRIPT for everyone:
“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. The CBO has drastically reduced the cost estimate for CHIP. With this score CHIP must be reauthorized for ten years and the Community Health Center Fund must be reauthorized and fully funded for at least two years without any offsets. Please make sure they are included in the next spending bill so we can stabilize these critical pieces of our health care system. Thank you.”
**ACTION 2: Share with Friends and Family**
Share this post with friends and family. Help them leave messages for their Congessional deligation about funding CHIP and community health centers.
WHERE’S CONGRESSMAN WALDEN!?!
DC (202) 225-6730, Medford: (541) 776-4646,
Bend (541) 389-4408, La Grande (541) 624-2400
https://walden.house.gov/contact-greg/email-me
SENATOR MERKLEY
Portland: (503) 326-3386, DC: (202) 224-3753
Salem: (503) 362-8102, Eugene: (541) 465-6750
Medford: (541) 608-9102, Bend: (541) 318-1298
Pendleton: (541) 278-1129
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/contact/
SENATOR WYDEN
Portland: (503) 326-7525, DC: (202) 224-5244
Salem: (503) 589-4555, Eugene: (541) 431-0229
Medford: (541) 858-5122, Bend: (541) 330-9142
La Grande: (541) 960-7691
https://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/
