More U.S. children enrolled in SCHIP

WASHINGTON, July 19 (UPI) -- This year's reauthorization of the state Children's Health Insurance Program has resulted in at least 13 U.S. states covering more youngsters, analysts say.

Some 250,000 more children have gained subsidized government health insurance since Congress and President Barack Obama moved to vastly increase the program's funding and encouraged states to increase enrollment, The New York Times reported Sunday.

U.S. states set their own eligibility levels for subsidized insurance even though the federal government covers much of the costs, and states also decide whether to spend their own revenues as a way to draw even more cash from Washington. Since the SCHIP program was beefed up, three states have moved to drop requirements that legal immigrants wait five years before joining the program while others are extending coverage to pregnant women, the newspaper said.

California, however, has not been among the states to ease SCHIP requirements as it faces a $9.5 billion budget deficit -- in fact, some 250,000 now enrolled could lose their benefits.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has said California's problems were "a huge concern," the Times reported.