The House passed a bill to reauthorize funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which lapsed at the end of September, on Friday afternoon. The bill passed by a margin of 242-174 with only 15 Democrats voting in favor. Democrats have perceived the House legislation as partisan in nature due to the methods by which the program would be funded. Republicans have wanted to expedite the process so as not to keep nearly 9 million children without health care coverage and to try to force the hand of Democrats. Now, as Democrats had warned, there is a potential for an even further delay of a final bill’s passage until the end of the year. “By bringing a partisan bill to the floor, House Republicans are virtually guaranteeing that these essential programs will not be reauthorized until the end of the year,” ranking member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) previously told The Daily Beast.
—Gideon Resnick
