1. The New York Times Examines Emphasis on Children's Health Insurance The New York Times examined how the number of U.S. children with health insurance has increased in recent years, even as the number of adults with health insurance has decreased. "The picture is brighter for children than for adults in large part because of the enactment of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 1997. The program provides federal money for child health insurance to states,which determine eligibility, income limits, and covered benefits within federal guidelines. The number of children covered under the federal-state program grew rapidly, from 897,000 children nationwide in 1998 to 3.95 million in the middle of 2003, before leveling off," the Times reports. However, 11 states facing budget pressure have made it more difficult for eligible children to retain health insurance. Alan R. Weil, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, a nonpartisan research group, said children's health was one area of state spending that had consistently risen. Mr. Weil said it was much easier for officials to approve spending "for the kids" than to expand welfare programs for adults, even in times of hardship. 2. CHIP Gets Good Marks in Report to Congress This report to Congress on the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, was co-authored by Urban Institute and Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Drawing primarily on surveys of enrollees and disenrollees in 10 CHIPs as well as findings from site visits and a national sample of low-income uninsured children, the study found the programs to be successful in nearly all of the areas examined. Among other things, findings showed that CHIP served a population with diverse racial backgrounds and health care needs. CHIPs were also found to provide health insurance to the intended target population, primarily to low-income children who otherwise would have been uninsured. Furthermore, the programs availed enrollees of needed primary health care and other health care services, leaving them with fewer unmet needs than they would have had in the absence of CHIP. 3. Montana to Increase CHIP Enrollment by 2,000 Montana plans to boost enrollment in its State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by 2,000 with increased funding by the 2005 Legislature and 2004 voter-approved cigarette tax increase. There are about 12,000 children currently enrolled in the state's CHIP, but as many as 15, 000 may be eligible under current guidelines. Right now, a family of three with an annual household income of $24,135 and a family of four with an annual income of $29,025 are eligible. 4. Colorado Gets Approval to Add 4,000 to CHIP Federal health officials said they have approved a state plan that will make up to 4,000 more children eligible for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said the plan will raise the income level for eligibility in the program. That means children in families whose income is up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level can be signed up. That's up from 185 percent of the federal poverty level. The program started in 199 and is designed to help improve access to health care for children in families that earn too much to sign up for traditional Medicaid, but still can't afford private health insurance. Colorado's share of the cost will come from the new tobacco-tax revenues, while the federal government will contribute half of the cost through Medicaid. Besides making more children eligible for government-paid health insurance, Colorado's plan gives the eligible kids their own doctors to whom they can go for preventive care as well as acute care. Colorado lawmakers hope that plan slows the syndrome of waiting until a child is very sick and then showing up at the emergency room for $600-an-hour care. "In the long run, the plan should save the state money and make the kids healthier," said Barbara Ladon, Colorado's director of Child Health Plans Plus. Dr. Mark B. McClellan, administrator of the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services in Washington, D.C., praised Colorado for "committing to the health care of children. "As a physician I know how important it is for young children to have access to routine, preventive medical care," he said. "This new plan will help more kids receive the kind of care that can prevent long-term health problems." 5. Lottery to Pick Young Health Insurance Winners OLYMPIA — More than 13,000 immigrant children are vying for spots in a rejuvenated state health-insurance program for poor families, setting up a months-long waiting list that advocates call unbearable. Next month, a state computer system will draw 4,300 names at random from the list of eligible applicants for the Children's Health Program, a state-government alternative to Medicaid. Those who make the cut will get medical coverage that has been unavailable since 2002, when Washington lawmakers clipped the program during a major budget crunch. For the thousands whose names aren't drawn, the next opportunity for health insurance likely will be July, when perhaps 3,000 could be added. "These are all needy children. That's what's difficult," said Mary Wood, an eligibility-office chief for the Department of Social and Health Services. The legislature restored the program this year, agreeing to spend $13.7 million for the first batch of eligible kids. The program once provided coverage to more than 22,000. Wood said it is difficult to estimate how many children could be added during the second enrollment in July, because officials can't be sure how expensive care will be for the first batch of new clients. The Seattle-based nonprofit advocacy group Children's Alliance, however, estimates that another 3,000 children could get benefits in the second round. That still leaves a substantial waiting list. Children's Alliance officials are hoping legislators will spend more money on the program when they convene Jan. 9 to write a supplemental budget. Otherwise, thousands of children who don't get into the program could spend about 18 months waiting for coverage, deputy director Jon Gould said. The program offers coverage to families whose income is at or below the federal poverty line. (by Curt Woodward, The Associated Press, 12/25/05)