Today we are celebrating and thanking everyone who advocated at the federal level to bring attention to CHIP! Yesterday, Congress finally acted to extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as FAMIS in Virginia, for another six years. CHIP got caught up in politics for months, but the program that provides health insurance to 9 million children and 375,000 pregnant women in the United States still enjoys bipartisan support.
The Virginia families who generously shared personal stories about FAMIS made a difference. The child advocates who called their members of Congress made a difference. Also, we must acknowledge the tireless efforts of Linda Nablo, Virginia’s chief deputy director of the Department of Medical Assistance Services, for regularly providing information to Congress, Virginia’s governor, and the public about the effects of ending CHIP on Virginia’s families.
Because of these collective efforts, the 69,000 children and 1,100 pregnant women in Virginia who have health insurance through FAMIS will continue to have access to health care. THANK YOU!
Many other issues child advocates care about have not yet been resolved by this most recent congressional action, and we will continue to advocate for children as we move forward. But it’s important to pause and appreciate successful advocacy for CHIP.
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