Maryland Democratic Party Calls on Governor Hogan to Guarantee Funding for Child Health Insurance Program

Annapolis, MD — Today, 30 days after Republicans in Congress irresponsibly allowed federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to lapse, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews called on Governor Larry Hogan to guarantee funding for the vital program that protects hundreds of thousands of low income children in Maryland.

If the Republican Congress and Governor Hogan fail to act, Maryland is expected to run out of CHIP funding by April 2018.  Maryland’s CHIP funding is administered by the Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP) and provides insurance to for more than 140,000 children in Maryland.  The program covers children up to the age of 19 whose families earned less than $51,273 in 2017 for a family of four.

“Protecting the vulnerable is the most basic function of government, yet Governor Hogan appears to consider it a political issue,” said Maryland Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews.  “Governor Hogan has been ducking and dodging as Republicans in Congress make healthcare worse for Marylanders, but it is time for him to be a leader and guarantee health care for thousands of children whose lives will be put at risk.”

Maryland is projected to lose $53 million in federal funding for CHIP this fiscal year due to the irresponsibility of Congressional Republicans.