Moore's health care plan for kids

Richard Moore has released a proposal for universal health coverage for children.

In a speech today to the North Carolina AFL-CIO, the candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination unveiled a plan called Carolina Cares for Children that would cover the 250,000 children in the state without health care.

"Families in North Carolina ought to know that their children can go to the doctor when they need to," he said. "Healthier kids will be healthier adults and that means lower health care costs for everyone."

Under the proposal, the state would use a carrot-and-stick approach to get children on existing Medicaid and Health Choice plans: Offer financial incentives to hospitals, schools and community health centers to enroll children and requiring parents list their children's policy numbers on their state tax return.

The plan would also simplify the enrollment process for children and extend state-provided coverage.

Full health insurance would be available to children in families up to 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and subsidized coverage to those between 250 and 300 percent.