W.Va. Expands Insurance Coverage to Include More Children

A move to provide health insurance to 4,000 uninsured West Virginia children will take a step forward in January, when 10 percent of them will be eligible for coverage under the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Whether those children are joined by the roughly 3,600 others the plan could help might depend on if the federal government decides to keep funding such programs.

Starting Jan. 1, the children’s insurance program will begin reviewing applications for coverage from families who earn up to 220 percent of the federal poverty level. Previously, the program only provided coverage for children from families making up to 200 percent of the poverty level.

Earlier this year, the state legislature approved a bill expanding coverage to children from families making up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, which would add roughly 4,000 children to the coverage plan, according to Diane Holley, communications director for the state Department of Administration.

The federal government plans to review its funding for so-called “CHIP” programs operated by the states in September, Holley said. The board overseeing the West Virginia program opted to expand coverage in stages over the next five years, which would be less of a financial impact.

“There’s some uncertainty about the funding that’s coming in from the federal government,” Holley said.

Each year, the board will consider increasing the number of children covered by raising the eligibility requirements, so that in 2008, it could be expanded to families earning 240 percent of the federal poverty level.

The expanded coverage in January will add about 400 uninsured children to the plan, Holley said.

Families who qualify for the plan are charged a premium of $35 per month if they have one child and $71 per month for two or more children.

The bill was passed at the urging of Gov. Joe Manchin, who wanted the legislature to increase the number of children covered by the insurance plan. Manchin spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg said the governor supports phasing in the coverage because of the uncertainty about federal funding.

“We want to make sure that when we make promises, we’re able to keep them, in terms of funding,” she said.

The children’s insurance board strategy for 2008 and beyond will likely depend on what the federal government does next September, Holley said.

If the federal government doesn’t renew its financial support of these programs, she said, “the West Virginia CHIP board will have some difficult decisions to make.”