Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA)

Connecting Kids to Coverage


The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA or Public Law 111-3) reauthorized the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIPRA finances CHIP through FY 2013. It will preserve coverage for the millions of children who rely on CHIP today and provides the resources for states to reach millions of additional uninsured children. This legislation will help ensure the health and well-being of our nation's children.

On February 4, 2009, President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA). This legislation marked a new era in children’s coverage by providing states with significant new funding, new programmatic options, and a range of new incentives for covering children through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). One of the clear goals of the legislation is to support states in developing efficient and effective strategies to identify, enroll, and retain health coverage for uninsured children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but are not enrolled. CHIPRA also provided flexibility to states to expand health care coverage to children who need it, and tasked the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) with developing standards by which states can measure the quality of the care that children are receiving.

"Today, with one of the first bills I sign – reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program – we fulfill one of the highest responsibilities we have: to ensure the health and well-being of our nation’s children. It is a responsibility that has only grown more urgent as our economic crisis has deepened, health care costs have exploded, and millions of working families are unable to afford health insurance. Today in America, eight million children are still uninsured – more than 45 million Americans altogether."
- President Obama

CHIPRA Category A

A Quality Demonstration Grant that experiments with and evaluates the use of new and existing measures of quality for children.

Categories for the Core Quality Measures:

  • Prenatal
  • Immunizations
  • Screenings
  • Well Child Visits
  • Availability (access to Primary Care Providers)
  • Upper Respiratory (antibiotics use)
  • Dental Varnishing
  • Emergency Department
  • Asthma
  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Mental Health
  • Diabetes
  • Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (MCHAT)
  • Obesity
  • Foster Care

CHIPRA Connect (also known as Category C)

Provider Models Enhancing Care for Children with Special Health Care Needs

Learning Collaborative which will enhance Medical Home Model for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) with a focus on social-emotional, developmental and behavioral, and mental health.

Promotes the use of routine screens for children of all ages with special emphasis on:

  • Maternal Depression
  • Autism
  • School Age
  • Adolescent Screens

For more information contact: Lisa Roten, RN, BSN, Quality Improvement Specialist/CHIPRA | [336] 354-2994