AL Officials Make Decision on Kids Insurance

WASHINGTON (AP) - Alabama officials have decided against
reducing the rolls of the state's ALL Kids children's health
insurance program this year after receiving assurances from
Washington that the state won't get stuck with the bill down the
road.
Cathy Caldwell, director of ALL Kids, said the feds want the
state to continue to enroll all eligible applicants.
ALL Kids and similar programs around the country have been at
the center of a debate in Congress over federal funding, which
covers most of the costs - 78 percent in Alabama.
The Democratic-controlled Congress twice passed legislation to
increase spending and expand the effort. President Bush vetoed the
bills, saying they were too expensive and would mark a shift toward
government-run health care by cutting into private coverage.
Lawmakers eventually passed a status quo extension to keep the
program operating through March 2009. ALL Kids covers children
whose families earn up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level,
or about $41,300 for a family of four.
State Health Officer Don Williamson asked state lawmakers at a
budget hearing yesterday to continue supporting the popular program
in the face of budget cuts.
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On the Net: http://www.adph.org/allkids/

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)