Children's Health Insurance Program Extended, Following Months of Efforts By Brown

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), known in Ohio as “Healthy Start,” has been extended for six-years, protecting the healthcare of more than 209,000 Ohio children, families and pregnant mothers. Final passage of this bill comes after months of efforts by Brown to get the bill passed. Brown cosponsored the version of the bill that passed the Senate Finance Committee earlier this year.

“For more than 100 days, these moms and dads have gone without knowing if their kids would be able to go to the doctor when they get sick or get their annual checkup. Tonight, we finally provided peace of mind to thousands of Ohio parents,” said Brown. “Now we must continue fighting to fund community health centers and rural hospitals to ensure Ohio kids not only have insurance, but also a place to go when they are sick.”  

Brown introduced a bipartisan, five-year CHIP extension in September 2017 and passed it out of the Finance Committee in October. Brown has been calling on Republican leaders to pass CHIP month after month. Over the weekend, Brown took to the Senate floor to move to immediately pass a CHIP extension.

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