There are 850 families in the Roaring Fork Valley covered by CHIP - a government program that helps with healthcare costs for children and pregnant women. To ensure that they still get financial assistance, regardless of budget talks in Washington D.C., Colorado lawmakers took action yesterday.
Gov. John Hickenlooper filed for emergency state funding to cover any gaps to CHIP that federal inaction might cause. Yesterday, the bipartisan Joint Budget Committee approved assistance through the end of February.
The state dollars come from the children's basic health plan trust account – not general funds.
If Congress does not pass a budget today, but reinstates CHIP funding early in the new year, those state funds will not be used.
