Related articles:

State-run health plan in the red Fears about health insurance Effort to scrap health program is shortsighted

Other articles by Jane Erikson:

UA women's swim team buoys spirits of others Experts: Skimping on birth control costs AZ Our taxes now pay for most AZ births There's help for kids at home while parents work TMC to open hospice, calls it Peppi's House NW interior-design company has an award-winning style 'The Gypsy' thinks she may have landed Planned Parenthood OKs merger of Ariz. branches She keeps her customers in step with smart design In step with smart design

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION General
A1 Communications
Cable Techs Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator

U.S. Senate Democrats are expected to unveil today a budget plan that includes a $50 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program that covers 6 million children nationwide.

About 61,500 of them live in Arizona, where legislators appear to be leaning toward expanding enrollment in the state's KidsCare program, rescinding a rule that prohibits marketing the program through public schools.

Lawmakers say rescinding the "gag rule" could add another 119,000 children to KidsCare, an option for Arizona families with incomes up to twice the federal poverty level — about $40,000 a year for a family of four.

The median family income in Arizona is about $45,300, according to a 2005 survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, Gov. Janet Napolitano's request that KidsCare eligibility be raised to 300 percent of poverty level — $60,000 a year for a family of four — seems all but doomed as the fiscally conservative Legislature looks for ways to trim spending in the face of slowed revenue growth.

"I think that's very unlikely to happen this legislative session," said Rep. Pete Hershberger, R-Tucson. "What we're focusing on is getting those children who are already eligible to enroll. ... I'd like to have all kids in Arizona covered, but that's not going to happen."

Rescinding the gag rule carries a $4 million price tag, Hershberger said: $3.5 million for children's health care, and $500,000 to be spent on posters, brochures and other marketing materials to be given to schoolkids and their parents.

Sen. Robert Blendu, R-Litchfield Park, explained why some conservative legislators oppose the concept.

"The argument is that we have people who qualify for this program and don't know about it and we should be able to tell them about it at school," Blendu said. "But the schools give everyone a free lunch whether the kids' parents are poor or not. Every time we audit a school we find huge discrepancies. ... We are giving services to people who don't qualify for them."

Nevertheless, Blendu said, making sure children have access to health care is a top priority for the Republican-controlled Senate.

The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association and the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics are both backing Napolitano's request for the 300 percent income limit.

"When a child lacks health-care coverage, families seek care for them in hospital emergency departments and the cost for that care is often unpaid, and that creates a 'hidden tax' for Arizonans who do have insurance, who end up paying more," said Laurie Lange, hospital association lobbyist.

Asked if she saw any hope for increasing the KidsCare income limit, Lange said, "I would be the last person to discount Governor Napolitano's ability to negotiate her budget priorities."

But she conceded, "The good news is, there is strong support for expanding our outreach efforts, participating through schools."

Dr. Keith Dveirin of Tucson, state president of the pediatrics academy, said he doubts the Legislature will raise the family income limit for KidsCare.

"But even without raising the income limit, if you just did more outreach to families and kids, that would be a big benefit," Dveirin said.

KidsCare gets $3 from the federal government for every $1 the state puts into the program.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a health-policy research group, released a report Tuesday showing that 47 percent of parents in families earning less than $40,000 a year are offered health insurance through their employers — a 9 percent drop during the past decade.

Those are the same families who may be eligible for Kids-Care and children's health-insurance programs in other states.

Arizona is among 27 states and the District of Columbia to limit family income to 200 percent of federal poverty level, according to University of Minnesota researchers who prepared the Robert Wood Johnson report, "Whose Kids are Covered?" Six states allow families with incomes at 300 percent of poverty level, or more, to enroll children in the government program.

The Senate Budget Committee's plan runs counter to President Bush's budget, which calls for reduced funding in the children's health-care program, reported last month to be $745 million short of what it needs for the rest of this fiscal year.

Bush's cuts would leave the program with an additional $15 billion shortfall over the next five years, analysts predict.

An unusual alliance of liberal and conservative groups, including the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans and the socially liberal advocacy group, Families USA, countered Bush's plan Tuesday. They asked the Senate to restore the $15 billion and add another $45 billion over five years to increase children's health-care coverage.

Get the latest health information from leading experts, delivered directly to your e-mail inbox. Sign up at azstarnet.com/health