Congress must act to keep Arizona kids healthy

Arizona has made significant gains in the rate of health-insurance coverage for children, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data. But this progress could be eroded if Congress fails to renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which expires on Saturday. Thousands of low-income Arizona children who rely on KidsCare — as Arizona’s version of the program is known — are counting on our congressional delegation to ensure they can continue to visit their doctor or dentist for checkups and other preventive care.

Thanks to Arizona’s recent restoration of KidsCare and other factors, our state saw the nation’s fourth-largest drop in the rate of uninsured children since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as “Obamacare.” Yet we remain tied with Oklahoma for the fifth-highest rate of uninsured children, so our work is far from complete.

Arizona foundations invest significant resources in initiatives that improve the health and well-being of children by funding medical research and supporting innovative solutions to complex societal problems. When the Arizona legislature and Gov. Doug Ducey restored KidsCare in 2016, foundations funded outreach and enrollment efforts to help children get the care they need.

Now, the Arizona Early Childhood Funders Collaborative — a group of funders whose focus areas include health care and early childhood education — is calling on Arizona’s congressional delegation to support extending CHIP for five years at current funding levels.

Unlike other states, Arizona law requires state officials to freeze enrollment if federal funding for KidsCare dips below 100 percent. More than 22,000 children who receive affordable health insurance through KidsCare stand to lose their coverage if Congress fails to reauthorize CHIP at current funding levels.

We’ve seen this enrollment-freeze scenario before, and it wasn’t pretty. When state policy makers halted KidsCare during the Great Recession, thousands of Arizona children lost their access to primary and dental care and had to turn to hospital emergency departments when their conditions worsened. Uncompensated hospital care skyrocketed, driving up healthcare costs for all.

Research shows that healthy children perform better in school and become successful adults. A 2014 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that children who had access to Medicaid and CHIP were less likely to drop out of high school, and more likely to graduate from college and earn higher incomes as adults.

A Harvard Business School study found that families with CHIP coverage saw a 23 percent higher rate of selfemployment and a 31 percent higher rate of ownership of incorporated businesses.

Business and philanthropic leaders, health-care providers and parents agree that KidsCare is an essential and sound investment for working families. We are counting on Arizona’s congressional delegation to work in a bipartisan way to protect our most precious and promising asset: our children.

Suzanne Pfister is president and CEO of the Vitalyst Health Foundation, which is dedicated to improving wellbeing in Arizona by addressing root causes and broader issues that affect health. Laurie Liles is president and CEO of Arizona Grantmakers Forum, the membership organization serving Arizona’s philanthropic community. Email them at SPfister@vitalysthealth. org and lliles@azgrantmakers.org.