Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue says Richard Moore is not working toward universal health care.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate was responding to the state treasurer's campaign's criticism that her plan to insure lower-income children and parents is too expensive.

In an e-mail to Dome, Perdue spokesman David Kochman said that Moore is "turning his back" on a statement from his campaign kickoff that "every citizen should have access to high quality affordable health care."

Kochman said that Perdue's plan to phase in coverage could be paid for through cost savings. He also said "the only real way" to get universal health coverage for children is to insure their parents. 

"If we don't start getting poor people out of the emergency rooms, we'll never be able to lower health care costs for the middle class—and these are the common-sense steps that will get us there," he wrote.

How many parents would sign up for Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's health plan?

In her cost estimates for insuring parents, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate relies on figures from the N.C. Institute of Medicine that estimate 30 percent of eligible parents would sign up.

Her rival, state Treasurer Richard Moore, estimates 100 percent would enroll in her plan.

The difference is one reason why his estimate for her health care plan for uninsured parents is nearly six times as high as Perdue's own numbers.

Adam Searing, a health care advocate for the N.C. Justice Center, says that it's unfair to assume everyone eligible would sign up.

"You will never get 100 percent of people to enroll," he said. "No state has ever done that. Even Massachussetts, which is making health insurance mandatory, isn't getting anywhere near that goal."

Because it includes monthly premiums and copays, Perdue's plan is closer to private insurance than Medicaid, he said. Since it is voluntary, many parents would spend their money elsewhere.

Moore has called for parents to be asked for their children's policy number on their state tax forms, but neither he nor Perdue have called for penalties for parents who do not sign up.

How much would it cost to insure parents from working poor families?

In her proposal for insuring poorer children, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue has called for extending coverage to their parents as well, arguing it's the best way to make sure their children get care too.

Her rival for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, state Treasurer Richard Moore, has said her plan is too expensive, arguing it would cost $700 million to "fully deliver" on the plan.

The Perdue campaign estimates her plan would only cost $120 million.

Both sides are using data from a 2006 study by Mercer Human Resources Consulting for the N.C. Institute of Medicine's Task Force on the Uninsured. But they're adding the numbers up differently.

After the jump, we do the math.

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