- Time Is Running Out to Fund a Program That Insures 9 Million Kids Fortune by Simon Haeder — Little attention has been paid to a long-running bipartisan program providing insurance coverage to millions of American children: the Children's Health Insurance Program, often referred to simply as CHIP, which provides coverage to nine million American children. Since its creation by a bipartisan coalition under the Clinton administration, CHIP has been crucial for the health and well-being of millions of American children, their families, and their communities. Yet funding for CHIP is running out at the end of September, leaving both state governments and families with great uncertainty.
- House Panel to Consider Children's Health Measure The Hill by Nathaniel Weixel — Legislation to reauthorize CHIP will get a markup in the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Oct. 4, days after the program's funding expires. CHIP funding expires Saturday, along with funding for community health centers. The House aims to include both programs in its bill, but Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has said he wants CHIP to stand alone. Details of the House legislation have yet to be released, and the length of the extension or any potential offsets won't be known until early next week, a committee aide said.
- The Benefits of Early Childhood Education and Health Programs May Last Longer Than a Lifetime The Wall Street Journal by Ben Leubsdorf — New research suggests programs aimed at helping low-income U.S. children, such as Head Start early childhood education and Medicaid health coverage, may have benefits not only for participating children but for their children as well. A recent working paper found the 1980s expansion of Medicaid programs to cover more low-income pregnant women led, years later, to their children giving birth to healthier babies. Another working paper found childhood access to Head Start led to better long-term outcomes in the next generation, including higher high-school graduation rates and reduced criminal behavior.