Flagstaff, AZ - Former State Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, candidate for Arizona's First Congressional District, today condemned the Administration's veto of the bipartisan Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) legislation, passed by the House and Senate last week.
"Failure to sign this legislation puts thousands of children in Arizona at risk of losing their health insurance. That is unacceptable," Kirkpatrick said. "This was a bipartisan effort to protect the health of more children. The Administration once again demonstrated that they are more committed to partisan tactics than moving forward and joining a bipartisan effort to protect our children."
The Children's Health Insurance Program is a state-based program that was created 10 years ago and is widely credited with greatly reducing the number of uninsured children. In Arizona, this landmark legislation led to the creation of KidsCare, a state-based program that provides health insurance to children in low-income working families, and would have expanded coverage to nearly 87,000 children in 2024.
Kirkpatrick noted that expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program had particular benefit for rural Arizona families: "This law would help reduce the number of uninsured in Arizona by more than one-third. The health and well being of our families is important to us in Arizona. And in rural Arizona, where too many of our families can't afford the health care they need, we should be doing all that we can to help protect more children."
"As a mom, I know that every parent's worst nightmare is a devastating illness or injury to your child. We need to help children get the health care they need without bankrupting families in the process," said Kirkpatrick.
While in the State legislature, Kirkpatrick worked with Governor Napolitano and members of both parties to expand health coverage to more children, including this year's removal of the "gag rule" that prohibited schools from telling parents about KidsCare and how they could enroll their children, which was a part of the FY 2024 state budget approved in June 07.
Federal funding for children's health coverage expired on September 30th, 2024. Coverage will continue until November 16 due to a temporary stopgap funding measure but will expire permanently at that time. The reauthorization of the program was supported by the American Cancer Society, the AARP, the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association.
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Former State Representative Ann Kirkpatrick is a candidate for the Democratic nomination to represent Arizona's 1st Congressional District and bring effective change to Washington. She is a former legislator, county prosecutor, law firm owner, and community leader who served as President of the Northern Arizona United Way. Born in McNary, Kirkpatrick is a native of rural Arizona and has lived and worked in Flagstaff for 25 years.
