With the passage of President Trump’s tax bill and its cuts to Medicaid, many health care advocates warn of disaster for health programs.

But there’s a surprising opportunity hidden in this political reality. What if these cuts could be used to streamline bureaucracy to actually improve children’s health care?

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Take Maria Reyes, a Texas medical assistant earning under $20 an hour, who faces a bureaucratic nightmare every year proving she’s still poor enough to keep her daughter, Maya, insured through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). “It’s like they don’t believe you need it,” Maria told the Texas Tribune, describing the yearly ritual of completing 15-20 pages of paperwork to demonstrate continued eligibility.

Maria’s income hovers just near the cutoff, and she recently needed to reduce her hours to keep Maya from losing vital coverage. One missed deadline or document, and Maya could lose access to the frequent care their family can only afford through CHIP to manage her rare genetic disorder.

Maria’s predicament is not unique. Nearly 1 in 10 children on CHIP fall off and re-enroll each year, not because they’ve become ineligible but because of paperwork mistakes. These gaps mean missed checkups, unmanaged chronic conditions, and trips to the ER where care costs dramatically more.

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And for families like Maria’s, the income limits create a cruel cliff. Earning just $1 too much can send health care costs soaring by more than 500%, often for worse coverage that excludes dental, hearing, and specialized therapies kids need. Only 3% of CHIP families who lose coverage enroll in private alternatives.

Related Story Medicaid cuts will hurt all American children — not just those publicly insured

Of CHIP’s $20 billion annual budget, about $2 billion is consumed by administrative costs, forms, files, and eligibility checks, instead of actual care. As a whole, America’s health care administrative expenses are more than double those of comparable nations. That money should be redirected to children’s health, not endless forms and verification processes.

With the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid overseeing a newly shrunken budget, cost containment should come from cutting administrative overhead, not by compromising children’s care. The solution is continuous coverage. If a family qualifies for CHIP two years in a row, stop forcing them to re-prove their poverty every year. Grant them coverage until their child ages out, moves states, or gets private insurance.

The data supporting this approach is compelling. States that guarantee 12-month continuous CHIP coverage keep tens of thousands more kids insured, with roughly a 0.1% increase in national health care spending. Extending to 24 months costs just 0.1% more. The payoff? Healthier kids, less ER use, and lower costs in the long run.

By granting continuous coverage until children age out, move states, or acquire private insurance, we could cut administrative waste at CMS to align with the administration’s fiscal goals while helping more children maintain consistent health care coverage.

Some worry this would let families “game the system.” But nearly 90% of CHIP recipients are well below the average state’s income limit, and most who qualify once qualify again and again. Fraud is less of a threat than families falling through the cracks because of paperwork. Bipartisan momentum has already secured 12-month continuous CHIP coverage nationwide.

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Now, Congress can strengthen this by passing the CHIPP Act, a bill that has been introduced in Congress and remains under consideration in the House. It would make CHIP permanent and free families from the uncertainty of annual budget fights, while streamlining the approval process through continuous eligibility. While current law offers 12-month continuous coverage, meaning children stay enrolled for a full year regardless of income changes, the CHIPP Act goes further: It would make CHIP’s funding permanent and allow states to provide truly continuous coverage until a child ages out, moves states, or gets private insurance. The administration has a unique opportunity to cut government bureaucracy, empower families to advance economically, and achieve meaningful health care reform to improve health outcomes for vulnerable American children.

Trump’s CMS cuts could devastate children’s health, unless we use this moment to fix what’s really broken. We can cut the red tape, not the care. For kids like Maya, continuous coverage means a healthy future. For parents like Maria, it means the freedom to work and provide for their families without risking their children’s health.

Congress has the chance to turn a budget crisis into a bipartisan victory for America’s children. Let’s seize it.

Jacob Murphy, M.D., is a resident physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Kristopher Keppel, M.D., is a resident physician at Brigham and Women’s and Boston Children’s hospitals.