Making CHIP work for the working poor in Idaho Low-income people in Idaho are leading the fight for fairness in the implementation of the Children s Health Insurance Program. States can use this money to expand Medicaid or create a separate state program. But implementation of the CHIP program nationally has been sluggish.
Many states have yet to apply for the funds.
And once the money is available, some welfare offices have not committed to conducting the extensive outreach that is required to reach eligible families. They have succeeded in getting the CHIP program fully funded, getting community representatives on the oversight committee, and have won several demands around fair treatment of applicants. The Idaho Community Action Network is a membership-based community organizing group. They have several thousand dues paying members, an active base of about 500, and about 50-100 members who have taken more prominent roles as speakers and leaders. ICAN launched the CHIP campaign over two years ago.