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From The Intercept:A program that provides health coverage to some nine million children was allowed by the Republican-controlled Congress to expire over the weekend.The Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, a bipartisan initiative that was originally co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch and the late Ted Kennedy in the 1990s, allows children who fall above the Medicaid threshold to obtain low-cost health insurance.Republicans diverted nearly all attention to another failed Obamacare repeal attempt. The bill’s co-sponsors, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., claimed to have momentum on their side and enough votes to pass the measure, but...

Home Visiting CoalitionMedia Contact:Heather Cabral202-550-6880Home Visiting Coalition disappointed in program lapse; vows to continue effort for reauthorizationWASHINGTON, D.C. — Sept. 29, 2017 — Despite strong bipartisan support, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV) expires on Saturday, Sept. 30. The Home Visiting Coalition called the anticipated program lapse a disappointment, especially in light of decades of evidence that MIECHV-funded home visiting models improve the health, development and education of young children. “MIECHV will expire and the longer that Congress takes to reauthorize this...

From 89.3 KPCC:One of the items on Congress' long to-do list of things to accomplish before the fiscal year ends is reauthorizing federal funding for home visitation programs that support parents and infants.The law supporting the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program is set to expire Sept. 30.Some of the programs at greatest risk as this threat of funding loss looms are the 25 tribal organizations across the country. California is home to three such programs in Lake County, Alameda County and Riverside-San Bernardino counties."We do get nervous sometimes," said Priscila Jensen, program director of...

First Focus Campaign for Children, along with several children's advocacy groups, released a joint statement today on the impact of Congress' failure to pass the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by the September 30th deadline.Read the statement.

WASHINGTON—The First Focus Campaign for Children welcomed the announcement by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) today not to hold a vote on the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill, putting an end to their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for now.Bruce Lesley, First Focus Campaign for Children President, said: “We’re glad to see the most damaging of all the repeal and replace bills suffer the same fate as the others. The American people have spoken again. Put simply, they want a healthcare solution that both sides can agree on. One that prioritizes the well-being of children and...

 Our organizations represent children, pregnant women, families, children’s health care providers and advocates across the country, and we speak here with one voice to urge the U.S. Senate to keep health coverage for children strong by rejecting the Graham-Cassidy health care repeal bill.The bill is an assault on the health and futures of our children, pregnant women, and adults and our nation. Yet the Senate is poised to run ahead to vote on the bill without a complete assessment from the Congressional Budget office on the cost of care and numbers of children, pregnant...

(Washington, DC) – The latest healthcare proposal, introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is making waves in Congress, as it moves toward a vote early next week.The Graham-Cassidy bill would inflict more damage than any of its previous iterations, eliminating the Affordable Care Act by converting it into a block grant to states, while simultaneously imposing a per capita cap on the Medicaid program, which the Senate previously rejected.In a statement released today, First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley wrote: “This is the most harmful healthcare bill yet. It’s beleaguering for American families to wonder what...

Click letter to readWASHINGTON—Today, the First Focus Campaign for Children joined more than 320 national, state, and local child and youth advocacy organizations to send a letter to Congress in support of the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017. The bill would provide lawful status and a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth and young adults who came to the United States as children, including recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.The letter urges Congress to quickly pass a clean Dream Act that protects immigrant...

WASHINGTON—With only a handful of legislative days left to extend funding for the popular and bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Congress is focused instead on a proposal by Senators Cassidy, Graham, Heller, and Johnson to do enormous harm to the Medicaid program and the 38 million children who depend on it.Bruce Lesley, President of the First Focus Campaign for Children, said: “The nearly 9 million American kids who rely on CHIP for their healthcare are once again being ignored by a Congress intent on playing politics with their well-being. The program expires in just days and,...

WASHINGTON—The First Focus Campaign for Children strongly supports the bipartisan agreement in the Senate Finance Committee to fund a five-year extension to the popular and effective Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which covers 9 million low-income children. Funding for the program is set to expire on September 30.First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley said: “We applaud Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden for making the health and well-being of America’s children a priority. Nearly 9 million kids from hardworking families who can’t afford health coverage, but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, depend on CHIP....