Low-Income Health Insurance Program May Die

Tucsan AZ

The state health insurance program KidsCare Parents provides low-cost coverage to more than 14,000 low-income adults.

Republican lawmakers in both the state house and senate have taken steps to eliminate it.

The Bush administration created the program so low-income parents of children covered by the state can get coverage for themselves.

The program is projected to cost $10 million next year.

Federal money once paid for it, but now changes in federal funding mean the state will have to pick up the tab.

Advocates of KidsCare Parents say uninsured patients often go to hospital emergency rooms where they must be treated, regardless of ability to pay.

Hospitals pass on those costs to insured people and that can lead to higher insurance premiums.

Most people enrolled in the program work full-time.

To be eligible a family of four can't make more than about $40,000 a year.

Those families pay premiums of from $45 to $85 a month.