Leadership, Total Rewards

The Future of CHIP and Why You Should Care

Shemelia McClain / January 30, 2018 January 30, 2018

Are you aware that federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expired on September 30, 2017? Did you also know that CHIP covers about 8.9 million children in working families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2017)? If not, let me tell you why you should be informed on this topic, especially if you run a Non-Profit organization.

Simply put, you have employees who work for you but who have children that qualify for CHIP. How is that possible? Consider this: the salary of the average Entry-Level Program Coordinator working at a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Non-Profit agency is $36,097 per year according to Payscale.com (2017). That is significant considering a family of 3 qualifies for no-cost CHIP in Pennsylvania if they make between $32,000 and $42,474 (CHIP Covers PA Kids, 2017). You are probably starting to get the picture that even if you are not aware of what is going on with CHIP, a share of your employees are concerned about it. This is because even though you offer health care, those on CHIP are employed but make slightly too much to qualify for Medicaid and not enough to afford their payroll deduction for healthcare.

What can be done? Education is the key. While you cannot foresee the ultimate future of the CHIP program, you can arm your employees with information. Help them to evaluate all of their options from what insurance programs are available for their children to how they can get the medications they need for their family for costs that are often lower than their plan copays. By seeking alternative ways to assist your employees, you gain their trust. They will become increasingly aware that you are interested in them as individuals as you help protect their most valuable asset- their family’s health.