It’s shocking when you think about it.

Gridlock and political games in Congress have resulted in both the Children’s Health Insurance and Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting programs (CHIP and MIECHV) to lapse. 

*Sign now! Tell Congress: Our kids are not a political football! Continue funding for CHIP and MIECHV now!

Wait, what is happening? Millions of families across the country are at risk of losing health insurance for their children (through CHIP) or critical home visiting services (through MIECHV) because of congressional inaction. Funding for both of these programs expired at the end of September and every day Congress waits to renew funding is a day closer to children losing health care and home visiting services. Congress needs to act now!

BOTH of these programs have historically had bipartisan support and BOTH help vulnerable families keep kids healthy. It really should be a no-brainer, but some members of Congress are holding up passage of these critical programs for children in order to gain leverage on other legislative priorities.

This is not ok!

Congress must work quickly to reauthorize CHIP and MIECHV to ensure families have access to the care and support they need to build a solid foundation for their children to thrive. When you click, you’ll instantly sign our petition which reads:

As one of over a million members of MomsRising, I’m writing to ask you to put kids and families at the top of your priority list! Funding for both the Children’s Health Insurance and Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting programs (CHIP and MIECHV) expired on September 30th.

Both of these programs are critical for providing support for vulnerable families and keeping kids healthy. Every day Congress waits to renew funding is a day closer to children losing health care and home visiting services.

Congress must work quickly to reauthorize CHIP and MIECHV to ensure children have access to health care, families have access to the support they need to build a solid foundation for their children to thrive, and states can plan for the stable future of these programs. Please work together to continue funding for CHIP and MIECHV now!

Tell Congress: Our kids are not a political football!! Continue funding for CHIP and MIECHV now!

What’s the Children’s Health Insurance Program? CHIP is crucial, as it helps to cover children who fall into a gap—their families make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but they also cannot afford private health insurance. In addition, CHIP helps to provide support for children with special health care needs and to reduce disparities in coverage for communities of color—more than half of Hispanic and Black children are covered through CHIP and Medicaid. Families can’t afford to have uncertainty about whether their children will have health insurance next year, which is why it’s imperative for Congress to act NOW!

What’s home visiting? The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV) supports voluntary, evidence-based home visiting in all 50 states as well as in many territories and tribal communities. This critical program connects parents with trained home visitors (like nurses, social workers, and educators) who have specialized training. Home visiting helps end multi-generational cycles of poverty and puts families on the path to good health, educational success and economic self-sufficiency. What’s more, for every dollar invested in home visiting, as much as $5.70 is returned to the community. Supporting families with home visiting is a win for families, communities, and the economy!

Join us to remind our leaders that families are counting on them to extend funding for CHIP and MIECHV!

Children and families across the country are counting on Congress to extend CHIP and MIECHV quickly. They can’t wait another day.

Together we are a powerful voice for families.

P.S. Open enrollment for health care coverage is happening now through December 15th! Sign up to be an #ACAdefender to help spread the word