How can the state get uninsured kids into existing programs?

As noted on Dome last month, two-thirds of North Carolina's uninsured already qualify for either Medicaid or Health Choice plans for low-income children.

A July report from the Task Force for a Healthier North Carolina has more than a dozen recommendations to enroll those children. The task force, a partnership between the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund and UNC-Chapel Hill, was co-chaired by state Sen. Bill Purcell, Rep. Verla Insko and Trust Fund Commissioner Carole Bruce.

In a position paper on health care, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's gubernatorial campaign said the state "needs to implement" the report's recommendations.

They include targeting families on reduced-lunch and food-stamp programs, enrolling children who show up in emergency rooms, allowing parents to apply for benefits online, providing preprinted renewal forms, and reimbursing counties for each child enrolled.

The report also recommends tracking health insurance eligibility through existing computer databases for the state's social workers.