On August 13, 2024, CHIP sent the following letter to LEAs throughout the commonwealth.

Dear School Superintendent/Chief Administrator:

Pennsylvania Act 84 of 2015 requires that public and nonpublic schools receive electronic notice with general information about the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) on an annual basis no later than August 15. The attached flyer was created and should be shared with every parent or guardian of every student enrolled in the local education agency (LEA) during the school year.

CHIP covers uninsured children and teens up to age 19 – and no family earns too much to qualify. With nearly 128,000 uninsured children in Pennsylvania, this is great news for families!

CHIP provides quality, comprehensive health insurance for routine doctor’s visits, prescriptions, dental, eye care, eyeglasses, mental health, and much more. CHIP covers uninsured kids who are not eligible for Medical Assistance. For many families, CHIP is free – for others, it is low cost.

Please forward the CHIP flyer to each school under your jurisdiction at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. The flyer can be sent directly through email, posted to a school website with a link distributed to students’ families, printed and distributed with other information that is being sent as caregiver packets, or prepared for students to take home. By distributing the flyer at the beginning of the school year, we help ensure that all students, including those new to your LEA and incoming kindergarten classes, receive the information about the program as soon as possible if they are in need.

The flyer and many more resources can be found on the CHIP website at www.CHIPcoversPAkids.com, under CHIP Resources.

The CHIP program is pleased to partner with LEAs in helping families find affordable health insurance for their children. After all, healthy kids are better students!

Thank you for your assistance in helping families in need find comprehensive health insurance coverage for their children.

Sincerely,
Nicole M. Harris, Executive Director
Pennsylvania Children’s Health Insurance Program