A bill that would provide government health insurance to more children in low-income families “is simply a small step toward making sure Nebraska children have access to health care,” said Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery.

His bill (LB818) would raise the income level cut-off so more families would qualify for the Medicaid health care program for children that the state calls Kids Connection and the federal government calls SCHIP, or State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Right now, Nebraska families that earn no more than 185 percent of the federal poverty level can qualify for the Kids Connection program. Under the 2007 poverty guideline, that’s a gross income of $38,203 for a family of four.

Avery’s bill would move that cutoff to 200 percent of the poverty level, or $41,300 gross annual income for a family of four.

Nebraska would move closer to the mainstream with the bill. All surrounding states cover the children of families at 200 percent of the poverty level, except for Missouri,  which covers families at 300 percent of the poverty level or below, Avery said.

Most of the parents in these families have jobs, he said.

“They are working families. They are not deadbeats. They are working and struggling. They just don’t have income to pay for health insurance,” he said.

Avery’s bill is one of two measures, introduced Thursday, that would increase Medicaid coverage.

The state’s Medicaid program would cover smoking cessation programs and medication, under a bill (LB807) sponsored by Grand Island Sen. Ray Aguilar.

Medicare, a government program primarily for seniors, covers smoking cessation costs. But Nebraska’s Medicaid program, a government program for very low-income adults and children, does not help with these costs, Aguilar pointed out. Medication that helps people quit smoking can cost as much as $200 a month.

The state’s Health and Human Services Department staff had no estimates on the increased cost to taxpayers for either bill because the agency does not provide that kind of information until the public hearing on a bill, according to agency spokeswoman Marla Augustine.

But Aguilar argues that his bill would save money in the long run by reducing the number of people on Medicaid who smoke.

An estimated 33,500 Nebraskans on Medicaid smoke, according to research by Aguilar’s office. Based on the extra cardiovascular medical cost for smokers, the state could save about $4 million in seven years if 14 percent of those people quit smoking.

Studies indicate that 14 percent of smokers who attempt to quit with counseling and medications succeed. That’s twice the success rate for people who try to stop without any help.

Several statewide anti-poverty groups support increasing the number of families who can use the Kids Connection program.

While the costs of health care and insurance coverage have dramatically increased, Nebraska has never raised the income level for access to the program, said Jennifer Carter, director of the health care access program for the Nebraska Appleseed Center of Law in the Public Interest.

The average cost of employer-based health insurance is about $4,344 a year, according to the Economic Policy Institute. That’s about $362 a month, or 11 percent of the annual income of a family at 185 percent of the federal poverty level, said Sarah Ann Lewis, policy coordinator for Voices for Children, a nonprofit that focuses on children’s issues.

Last year an average of 23,919 children a month were covered under the Kid’s Connection program. Last fiscal year, the medical care cost about $43.75 million, with about 70 percent of the funding coming from the federal government, according to HHS figures.

Avery also pointed to Nebraska’s neighbors. Kansas and South Dakota cover children whose family income is at 200 percent of the poverty level or below, Wyoming, Colorado and Iowa at 200 percent of the poverty level. Missouri at 300 percent.

“Can’t we do better? Do we care less for our children than our neighbors?”

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.