Huntsman, Hatch Call for CHIP Reauthorization

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Governor Huntsman hopes that soon all of Utah's 72-thousand uninsured children will have health coverage. But his plan depends on Congress reauthorizing the state children's health insurance plan, or CHIP. President Bush and Democrats in Congress are currently at odds over how much money to spend in the reauthorization.

So Governor Huntsman has called for "all hands on deck" to find a compromise and reauthorize the program before it expires on October 1st. He has turned to Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch who helped create the program in 1997 and now supports Democratic plans to add 50-billion dollars to the program. Senator Hatch promises to use his influence with President Bush, and he says he'll press to leave control of CHIP in state hands.

This year the Utah Legislature committed four million more dollars to CHIP. Federal funds match that four-to-one, making it enough to keep enrollment open permanently for the first time in the program's history.

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