Gov. Walker Writes Letters to Congress on CHIP, HIT

Last week, Gov. Scott Walker sent letters to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) regarding the Health Insurance Tax (HIT) and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The first letter, dated Dec. 1, asked the leaders to “support legislation that would suspend the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Tax,” the annual fee on health insurers. Walker cited rising insurance rates for 2018 in Wisconsin and other states as reason to end the tax. Congress ended HIT for 2017, but has yet to pass legislation to extend the moratorium to 2018.

The second letter, dated Dec. 5, requests Congress reauthorize funding for CHIP, the federal-state partnership program that helps provide children access to medical care. According to the letter, Wisconsin has the funds to continue eligibility although Congress has not reauthorized the program. However, Wisconsin will have to fulfill the federal government’s share of the matched funds if Congress fails to act.