Kansas, Washington State Budgets Impact Health Programs for Children

The following summarizes how recent budget decisions are expected to impact children's health programs in Kansas and Washington.

• Kansas: Though Gov. Bill Graves' (R) fiscal year 2003 budget includes $45 million in tobacco settlement funds for the Children's Initiative Fund, which finances a variety of children's programs, children's advocates are worried that state lawmakers will appropriate the funds for other uses (Sullinger, Kansas City Star, 3/19). The Children's Initiative Fund provides money for programs such as HealthWave, the state's CHIP program, and a home visitation program for newborns (Landon, Topeka Capital-Journal, 3/15). Some advocates have expressed concern that the funds will be shifted to cover the state's $700 million budget deficit. Some lawmakers also have advocated spending a portion of the funds on services for seniors (Kansas City Star, 3/19). Last week, children's health advocates gathered at the Statehouse to ask lawmakers to preserve funding for the Children's Initiative Fund. Leadell Ediger, executive director of the Kansas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, said, "The deficit is not the fault of the children. Children should not have to pay for it" (Topeka Capital Journal, 3/15).
• Washington: To balance the state budget, lawmakers have cut $23 million from the state's CHIP program, meaning that about 25,000 legal and undocumented immigrant children will no longer be eligible for coverage under the program. The cut also means that about 2,000 adult immigrants will no longer be eligible for Medicaid. Some of the children expected to lose health coverage under CHIP will be eligible to enroll in the state's Basic Health Plan, which offers fewer benefits and has higher cost-sharing requirements than the CHIP program (Marlowe, Seattle Times, 3/18). The Basic Health Plan serves uninsured, low-income residents who do not qualify for Medicaid. Under the program, families earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level -- about $36,000 for a family of four -- can purchase health insurance on a sliding scale, with premiums for a family of four ranging from $20 to $119 per month (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 2/12). Some children's advocates have objected to shifting the children from CHIP into the Basic Health Plan, saying the latter is designed for adults and not "geared" for routine childhood exams, vaccinations and other preventive care (Seattle Times, 3/18).