--- title: What the CHIP Deal Can Teach Us About Bipartisanship description: Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden write: After Congress passed an extension of CHIP, we can now do even more to secure children’s health for the future canonical: https://time.com/5125567/hatch-wyden-chip-bipartisanship/ author: Orrin Hatch article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-30T21:30:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-30T11:03:04.090Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Sens. Hatch and Wyden: What the CHIP Deal Can Teach Us About Bipartisanship og:description: In a time when most Americans believe we are more divided than ever og:url: https://time.com/5125567/hatch-wyden-chip-bipartisanship/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted0309c8a136a95a/6988f685656a3f0cf5bd2fcd/orinn-hatch.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Speaker Ryan And Members Of Congress Hold Enrollment Ceremony To Mark Passage Of Tax Reform Bill og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sens. Hatch and Wyden: What the CHIP Deal Can Teach Us About Bipartisanship twitter:description: In a time when most Americans believe we are more divided than ever twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted0309c8a136a95a/6988f685656a3f0cf5bd2fcd/orinn-hatch.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sens. Hatch and Wyden: What the CHIP Deal Can Teach Us About Bipartisanship > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=04452c25-0948-4fc2-972a-3a41f9a95d34&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=04452c25-0948-4fc2-972a-3a41f9a95d34&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=04452c25-0948-4fc2-972a-3a41f9a95d34&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) by [Orrin Hatch](https://time.com/author/orrin-hatch/) and [Ron Wyden](https://time.com/author/ron-wyden/) Jan 30, 2018 9:30 PM UTC  Sen. Orrin Hatch speaks during a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enrollment ceremony on Dec. 21, 2017. Sen. Orrin Hatch speaks during a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enrollment ceremony on Dec. 21, 2017. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Orrin Hatch](https://time.com/author/orrin-hatch/) and [Ron Wyden](https://time.com/author/ron-wyden/) Jan 30, 2018 9:30 PM UTC The Children’s Health Insurance Program, better known as [CHIP](http://time.com/5106374/government-shutdown-childrens-health-insurance/), gives vulnerable children and their families peace of mind that they will have access to quality healthcare coverage. Anchored by a deeply held belief that the health of our future is more important than the political division of the present, CHIP was created on a bipartisan basis. Thanks to this foundation, it has continued and improved over the years through some good, old-fashioned congressional consensus-building. Last week, after an extensive debate that took far longer than either of us would have preferred, Congress [passed](http://time.com/5113727/trump-bill-shutdown-ends/) the longest extension of CHIP since the program’s inception in 1997\. This is a moment worth celebrating, and we believe there is a rare opportunity to do even more to secure children’s health for the future. In the 1990s, too many families felt caught: their jobs left their children underinsured, yet they earned too much to qualify for other social programs, like Medicaid. When Senator Hatch’s friendship with Senator Ted Kennedy paved a [bipartisan path toward CHIP](http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/14/us/hatch-joins-kennedy-to-back-a-health-program.html?referer=), this gap was bridged, providing coverage for hard-working families who needed some help to meet their children’s healthcare needs. Over the last two decades, CHIP has been a success. Nearly 9 million children and pregnant women currently benefit from CHIP, and kids enrolled in the program are [25% more likely than children without insurance](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2470859) to get annual checkups, among other benefits to their care. Recent history has demonstrated that the [merry-go-round](http://time.com/5115300/congress-government-shutdown-prevention-reform/) of extending funding for this critical program every one or two years — and the recent bout of [short-term patches](http://time.com/5107741/donald-trump-chip-budget-government-shutdown/) — has put a strain on state budgets and forced families to scramble and come up with alternatives about how to meet their healthcare needs. While each time bipartisan consensus has prevailed, the disruption it caused states and families in their financial planning is unacceptable. [An overwhelming majority of Americans](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/12/19/far-more-americans-say-there-are-strong-conflicts-between-partisans-than-between-other-groups-in-society/) consider it to be the most divisive time in American politics. But the Senate Finance Committee, which has a deep history rooted in working across the aisle, nonetheless came together to craft a bipartisan solution. This fall, we held a full committee [hearing](https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/hatch-opening-statement-at-finance-committee-hearing-on-chip) to examine how CHIP was working in states and for families. We worked together closely to develop the [_Keeping Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act_](https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/hatch-wyden-push-bipartisan-chip-bill) — a five-year extension of CHIP — and [voted it out of committee](https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/hatch-wyden-applaud-committee-passage-of-chip-bill) with nearly unanimous support. After significant negotiations, but unwavering commitment to bipartisanship, we both sought to ensure that funding for this critical program would continue. With the benefit of [an improved Congressional Budget Office score](https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/ExtendingFundingfortheChildren'sHealthInsuranceProgramfor10yearsWydenLtr..%5F.pdf), Congress was able to [add](http://time.com/5113626/congress-reopen-government/) an additional year to the KIDS Act — securing the longest-ever funding extension in the program’s 20-year history. It ensures stability for vulnerable children by extending CHIP funding for six years — a timespan critical to ending the repeated short-term fixes and constantly looming deadlines. The bill also, over time, transitions CHIP to its traditional federal-state partnership by increasing states’ financial matching requirements. This is a good start, but our work on CHIP isn’t over. Congress still has the opportunity to enact a longer extension and even more improvements to empower states to provide the best care possible and give families as much certainty as we can muster. Extending CHIP for four additional years is a worthy goal for a program that has enjoyed such strong support from both parties and such clear success for improving children’s health. It would also save taxpayers billions of dollars. We will keep fighting for the future, and we will not abandon bipartisanship to get there. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5125567/hatch-wyden-chip-bipartisanship/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5125567/hatch-wyden-chip-bipartisanship/"},"headline":"Sens. 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