Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Following draconian budget cuts to children’s health insurance in 2003, the Network of Texas IAF Organizations spent the next two legislative sessions working to restore full funding for families earning up to 200% of the poverty line. In 2007, the bill to expand coverage languished for seven weeks in the Senate Finance Committee after passing the House chamber. The Texas IAF Network leaders publicly confronted the Lt. Governor at a press conference, calling on him to stop blocking the bill. After negotiating a compromise eligibility provision that allowed for income verification checks for families between 185% and 200% of the federal poverty threshold, the bill passed, with its author crediting the Texas Network leaders for the success. This made an additional 127,000 children eligible for health care in Texas.
