Adding to the problem is that the state closed enrollment in CHIP Sept. 1 because of budget constraints.

The governor has stated his goal for all children to have health care coverage. There are already two cost-effective, successful programs that could help do just that: Medicaid and CHIP. By fully funding CHIP, cutting the red tape that hinders eligible children from getting coverage, and improving outreach to uninsured families, Utah could cover almost every child.

Nothing is as important as a healthy start in life. Today nearly 160,000 children in Utah have the health coverage they need to secure a healthy foundation in life thanks to the success of our strong public programs - Medicaid and CHIP. Of all our health reform efforts in the past decade, covering children has been resoundingly successful and efficient.

Kids can't insure themselves. Keeping children healthy, or seeing a doctor when they're sick, shouldn't be contingent on the job a parent has or the decisions their employer makes about the affordability of health insur- ance.

Private insurance coverage doesn't reach all children. In fact, private insurance is covering fewer families because small businesses increasingly find they cannot afford to provide that coverage. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation reported that overall, the total cost of health insurance for individuals now averages $4,242 a year. For families, the costs average a whopping $11,480. The long-term trend is very clear, and it's the slow unraveling of coverage in the employment-based system.

Medicaid and CHIP offer cost-effective coverage. In 2004, private health coverage premiums in Utah were 57 percent more expensive than CHIP. And, unlike CHIP and Medicaid, private coverage does not bring in federal matching dollars. For 2005, the CHIP monthly expense per child was approximately $120 of which the cost to the state was only $23 per month. Children covered through Medicaid are offered comprehensive, affordable insurance at a cost that is 31 percent less than private insurance.

Providing health care coverage for children means meeting their health needs - they get glasses to see the blackboard, have a pediatrician who makes sure they receive all the right immunizations, or receive a new treatment for asthma right away.

Studies show that children who are insured receive more consistent medical treatment, and those that get consistent treatment get more effective care. More accurate diagnoses, reduced emergency department use, fewer hospitalizations and fewer unmet medical needs reduce the cost of their care. When children are uninsured, families have to delay or forgo immunizations, preventative screenings, and treatments for chronic conditions like diabetes or acute conditions like a case of the flu. Delaying or relinquishing care for our children simply doesn't add up to lower health care costs.

Medicaid and CHIP have helped avert a crisis in health coverage for children by making access to health services available to children in a time of dramatically increasing costs and reduced employer coverage. More and more states are moving toward providing coverage for all children because it's an investment that makes sense.

The good news is that Medicaid and CHIP can cover almost every child today. We're too close to turn back, but there is also the potential risk we face of losing all of the ground that we have gained. Promoting the continued success of the CHIP and Medicaid partnership will ensure Utah's children receive the care they need.

---

* KAREN CROMPTON is the director of the nonprofit children's advocacy group, Voices for Utah Children.