Health Insurance
The Children's Health Insurance Program Strengthens Children's Health Care
The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has provided substantial coverage for critical groups of children and youth since its inception in the 1990s. Meant to cover children in households with incomes greater than financial eligibility for Medicaid but unable to obtain health insurance through a parent's workplace, CHIP has played a major role in achieving the lowest rate of uninsurance among America's children ever.1 With current funding through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (and due to expire in September 2015), CHIP also serves, along with Medicaid's Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment program, as health insurance tailored specifically to the needs of children.Future of Academic General Pediatrics—Areas of Opportunity
The dynamic change in the United States occurring in the diversity of pediatric populations and in health care will dramatically influence many dimensions of care, teaching, research, and advocacy in academic general pediatrics. By 2025, the nonwhite and Hispanic pediatric population will increase to 50% (Figure 1),1,2 leading the demographic change that is projected to occur in the whole United States population by 2050. This shift in population demographics is occurring concurrently with significant changes in both health care funding and the sophistication and complexity of systems caring for children, accentuated by an explosion of information technology.
