We got on CHIP when I was working full-time as a buyer at a factory, and my immigrant husband was working on his Master's degree. We had a one-year-old, and I unexpectedly got pregnant with our second baby. Despite having health insurance through work, our income level allowed us to qualify for CHIP; which, complemented our other coverage so that we had no out-of-pocket costs for our new baby's birth or when our older son needed to get his tonsils out. Our family of 4 lived on $25,000 a year so every penny was appreciated.

 

After three years on CHIP, I got a job that paid enough that we no longer qualified for it. Unfortunately, five years later that company went out of business, and again, we needed CHIP. One son took Singulair medicine every day to help his lungs, and without insurance, it cost $120 a month. During the time it took to process our CHIP application, I rationed the medicine to him - giving him a pill every other day instead of daily. It was January, and he got sick without enough medicine in his system.

 

After 2 years of unemployment, both my husband and I have now been working for 6 years with middle-class salaries and company-provided health insurance. We needed this program during some crucial moments and will always be grateful for the help we were provided.