Fighting for kids’ health care

Virginia parents shouldn’t have to go to bed at night worried about whether their kids will lose their health insurance.

In Virginia alone, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, provides health care coverage to 66,000 children and 1,100 pregnant women, and could run out of funding by January 31st. It covers doctor visits, hospital care, prescription medicines, eyeglasses, immunizations, dental services and regular check-ups for kids up to 19 years old with minimal cost sharing and without premiums.

I spoke on the Senate floor this week to urge my colleagues to quickly reauthorize CHIP and give parents peace of mind. We should take a vote on the bipartisan compromise that fully funds the program so we can end this uncertainty around health care coverage for thousands of Virginia kids and their parents.

Senator Tim Kaine