Richard Moore says Beverly Perdue's plan to insure parents is too expensive.

At a debate last week, he alluded to this argument, saying that he had a plan to provide health insurance for all North Carolina children, but not adults.

"I wish I could stand up here and say I've got it all figured out how to pay for health care for everybody," he said.

By contrast, Perdue has proposed phasing in coverage of adults up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, arguing it's the only way to cover uninsured children, including those who already qualify for the Medicaid or Health Choice plans.

Moore's campaign elaborated on the argument today. Campaign manager Jay Reiff told Dome Moore agrees the state should increase access to health care, but the focus should be on reducing costs.

"Perdue's plan to dramatically expand Medicaid is a very costly option," he wrote. "It would cost taxpayers more than $700 million for Perdue to fully deliver on this promise. When you add this price tag to Perdue's other promises so far, the total tab is well over $1 billion and counting. It begs the question: How is she going to pay for it all?"

Beverly Perdue would phase in coverage of uninsured parents.

The lieutenant governor, who is running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, has called for insuring adults up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. (That's currently up to $41,300 for a family of four.)

In her proposal, Perdue argues this would help insure children who already qualify for Medicaid or Health Choice insurance but are not signed up.

She proposes phasing in coverage by starting with families up to 150 percent of poverty level, or up to $30,975, with federal matching funds during her first years in office. Then, she would attempt to expand coverage up to 200 percent.

Perdue spokesman David Kochman wrote Dome that this reflects a "Families First" approach to health care. He cited a 2002 report from the national Institute of Medicine that showed having one uninsured member can hurt the health of the rest of the family.

"The research clearly indicates that the only way we will reach the now widely-shared goal of getting more poor children enrolled in public coverage is by extending coverage to their parents," he wrote.

Beverly Perdue thinks insuring parents would help insure kids.

As previously noted, two-thirds of North Carolina's uninsured kids already qualify for either Medicaid or Health Choice plans.

The lieutenant governor, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, says that providing state health insurance to parents would be the biggest step toward extending coverage to children.

In her proposal, she proposes insuring families up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level with health insurance. (Currently, only children are covered in North Carolina.)

In addition, she proposes reaching out to uninsured families when they apply for a birth certificate and when they present their pre-kindergarten health assessment to enter school.

She also endorsed the recommendations of the Task Force for a Healthier North Carolina.

Richard Moore has four proposals to get more uninsured children on existing programs.

As previously noted, two-thirds of North Carolina's uninsured kids already qualify for either Medicaid or Health Choice plans.

The state treasurer, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, says the most important part of his proposal is committing state resources to match federal money already available for the programs.

To enroll more kids, he proposes stepping up outreach programs and offering a financial incentive to schools, hospitals, county health departments and other groups for each previously uninsured child they enroll.

He also would require parents to provide a policy number for their child's health insurance on their state income tax return.

Finally, Moore proposes making an interactive form available online for enrollment and re-enrollment.

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.

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.

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.