Kathy Castor: “For decades now in America we have worked together to make sure that kids can see a doctor and get the care that they…”

“For decades now in America we have worked together to make sure that kids can see a doctor and get the care that they need. Working with pediatricians, families, and advocates back home, we have reached a historic point where almost all kids across the country have health insurance coverage. The Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, or known in Florida as Florida KidCare, or Healthy Kids, has been an important piece of this historic coverage level. CHIP simply is vital for families, millions of hardworking families, so that their kids can get the checkups, the immunizations, sometimes the critical care that they need so they can be healthy and well. Now, I chair the bipartisan Children's Healthcare Caucus. We educate and advocate so that kids across America are healthy and well. So it is especially disappointing this year that my Republican colleagues failed to act before CHIP expired. See, they were consumed all year long with ripping health coverage away, decimating the Affordable Care Act, and radically changing health services provided under Medicaid. In doing so, they let our kids down; they let our families down. And then, at the 11th hour, after the program expired, they come up with a very partisan bill rather than the bipartisan bill that has been the historic backbone of Children's Health Insurance. Don't take it from me.…”