The Michigan Department of Health and Human services is preparing to notify families of 116,000 children enrolled in health insurance under the Children's Health Insurance Program that their coverage could soon end.
Congress failed to reauthorize the program by October 1, the end of the fiscal year. Unless it takes action to restore funding, states will no longer receive support for their CHIP services. In Michigan, reserve funds for those programs could run out as soon as April 2018.
Angela Minicuci is the spokesperson for MDHHS. She says some programs supported by CHIP may come to an end if new funding isn't secured.
"Depending on what action occurs at the federal level, whether or not action does occur, we may need to begin sending notice to impacted individuals in January regarding what might potentially happen with their coverage," says Minicuci.
A number of programs operate under CHIP, including MIChild and the Flint Waiver Program, which provides health care coverage for people affected by the Flint water crisis.
Copyright 2017 Michigan Radio
