The child health insurance plan as a basic health care

West Virginia CHIP expects to continue providing basic health care to more than 25,000 children over the next few years regardless of Congress' actions to trim program spending, state CHIP Director Sharon Carte said.

Children in more than a dozen states could lose their coverage through the Children's Health Insurance Program this spring, but West Virginia officials say the state will likely dodge that bullet.

The federal government first authorized grants to states in 1997 to provide low-income children with health care, and Congress must reauthorize the program before it expires later this year.

President Bush wants to add just $5 billion to CHIP over the next five years while providers have recommended a funding increase of at least $60 billion. The program would require up to $15 billion over the next five years to keep operating in the same fashion it does now.

Any action Congress takes on the funding would affect each state differently.

Carte said West Virginia CHIP doesn't foresee any deficits in its funding through 2010.

"We're not so much impacted like other states," she said. "Other states use their money more quickly. We're fortunate to be in good shape."

West Virginia receives $28 million a year for CHIP. This year the program is projected to cost a total of $37 million, and Carte said CHIP has enough leftover federal funds from past years to fulfill its budget in 2007 and probably for the next few years.

The state also matches $1 for every $4 awarded by the federal government.

But states like Georgia are facing a rather grim reality. Gov. Sonny Perdue has threatened to eliminate Georgia's children's health care program altogether if Congress doesn't allot more money for it soon. In a few weeks, Georgia will likely stop accepting new applicants.

Carte said the rising population of uninsured children in other states could be a factor in why some are experiencing tougher times than West Virginia.

The number of children covered by West Virginia CHIP usually rises by only 2 percent a year, Carte said.

"That's a slow, moderate growth," she said.

CHIP was created to fill the gap between low-income families who qualify for Medicaid and those who can afford their own health insurance.

A family of four could make up to $40,000 a year and still qualify for benefits and pay no premiums.

Bush has said he wants to slow the growth of the program and keep its costs in check while refocusing resources on children of the working poor who may already be receiving Medicaid.

Several states and Democrats in Congress have emphasized CHIP's crucial role in providing children with health care. They also want to use the program as the foundation for offering universal health care.

Although West Virginia CHIP isn't facing a crisis, Carte believes Congress will make a decision soon to continue fully funding the program.

"We're in pretty good shape even if Congress takes another year to decide how they're going to fund CHIP," she said. "I think there's strong bipartisan support for it."

Contact writer Jake Stump at jakestump@dailymail.com or 348-4842.
Source: www.dailymail.com