After letting funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program slip Sept. 30, physicians and state officials are beginning to wonder if Congress will pass a funding resolution, NPR reports.
Here's what you should know:
1. Traditionally, CHIP has been popular amongst the American people, enjoying a wide berth of bipartisan support.
2. Nearly 9 million kids have insurance through CHIP. Since the funding lapsed, states have spent reserves to continue offering insurance. Recently, states have begun announcing their plans if funding is not continued.
3. Utah and Colorado will end their CHIP programs at the end of January without funding, while West Virginia will end its program Feb. 28.
4. Oregon's CHIP funding is already depleted. The state is borrowing from its Medicaid budget to cover its 80,000 beneficiaries through April.
5. Measures to extend CHIP funding were passed in October, but have since stalled due to disagreements on a funding source.
6. Congressional legislators and lawmakers said CHIP will likely be included in an end-of-the-year spending bill, but no talks have been scheduled for consideration.