Series 2207: Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Files. 1997-2003.
Finance and Administration, Dept. of (RG 34).

Series 2207: Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Files. 1997-2003.
Finance and Administration, Dept. of (RG 34).

      Files from the Office of Insurance pertaining to development of the Mississippi Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Materials include the contracts with Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Mississippi to administer the program; correspondence between BCBS, Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), and Department of Human Services (DHS) concerning all aspects of the program development; various reports; three resource notebooks to assist state officials in developing and administering the program; the request for proposal soliciting bids on the State contract; files of the CHIP Commission; the state plan with amendments and correspondence with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; transcripts of public hearings and meetings; and relevant Federal and state laws, regulations, and procedures.

      The Children’s Health Insurance Program was established by Congress in 1997 under Title XXI of the amended Social Security Act and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. It provided enhanced Federal funding for health services for children without health insurance and ineligible for services under Title XIX, the Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid). In 1998, the Mississippi Legislature implemented a small expansion of Medicaid as Phase I of CHIP and established the Mississippi CHIP Commission. The commission was charged with developing the state plan for expanded utilization of Title XXI funds for uninsured children under Phase II of CHIP and recommended that the Mississippi State and School Employees’ Health Insurance Management Board be given authority to implement Phase II as a fully funded statewide program. The state’s application to the Federal Health Care and Financing Administration (HCFA) was approved in February 1999 and in April 1999, the Mississippi Legislature approved the expansion of CHIP eligibility to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Funding for CHIP was established as a combination of Federal (84%) and state (16%) matching funds.