Oklahomans Fear Health Insurance For Children Could Be Taken Away

With another government shutdown looming over talks in Washington, fears that health insurance for millions of children could be taken away are mounting.

Those insurance programs are called the Child Health Insurance Programs, or better known as CHIP, and the funding may not last through the weekend.

Across the country, more than 9 million children use programs funded by CHIP to stay healthy. 

According to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, roughly 120,000 children qualify for CHIP assistance in the state. 

Because Oklahoma does not separate CHIP and Medicaid money, it's hard to tell just how many kids could be affected if money runs out but there are just under 4,000 children on CHIP only programs that could be cut. 

Lawmakers in Washington have known the money would be running out since the fall of 2017. Authorities in Oklahoma think they can stretch the funds until the end of February. 

A new score from the Congressional Budget Office said extending the CHIP program would actually save the government money, the plan that was supposed to cost $8 billion would now only cost $800 million, leaving many parents and doctors saying funding the program should be a no-brainer.