Two-thirds of North Carolina's uninsured children already qualify for state health plans.
According to figures compiled by Action for Children N.C., a child health advocacy group, 177,000 uninsured children in the state come from families earning below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or less than $41,300 for a family of four.
That means they already should be covered by either Medicaid or Health Choice, two health care plans for low-income children paid for with state and federal dollars.
The state already promotes both programs at hospitals, schools and state agencies, but many parents fail to sign up. Others don't qualify. Children who immigrated illegally cannot receive benefits, while those who immigrated legally still must wait five years to sign up.
Adam Searing, project director for the N.C. Justice Center's Health Access Coalition, said the state can't afford to cover all those children anyway, unless Congress provides more money for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which funds Health Choice.
"All those kids could sign up, but we don't have the money available," he said.
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