Uninsured children are the state's No. 1 priority, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Tuesday at the first Child and Family Cabinet Council Meeting.

Huntsman formed the Cabinet Council last May because "the children are our future," according to an executive order he issued. Other reasons included the importance of education, the dangers of abuse and the need for a "proactive and coordinated approach to issues surrounding children and families."

The members of the council include a community representative, the governor's legal counsel, the attorney general, the administrator for administrative office of the courts, the director of the guardian ad litem, a legislative representative and a representative from Primary Children's Medical Center. The group will meet at least twice a year.

The primary function of the new Cabinet is to develop policies, inventory funding, receive reports and track child and family well-being and outcomes.

The meeting this week comes while Congress is debating the reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, which needs to be renewed before it expires Sept. 30.

Congress created CHIP in 1997 to help families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid and not enough for private health insurance. The program assists around 35,000 children in Utah, according to documents presented in the governor's council meeting. Nearly 90,000 children are uninsured in the state, and most have been uninsured for over a year, despite living with someone who is working full time.

Huntsman said those children should be insured.

"On a human interest standpoint it needs to be done," he said. "We are making progress. We must continue."

Voices for Utah Children director Karen Crompton said a family of four in Utah with an income of $41,300 right now can qualify for CHIP.

The Senate version of the CHIP reauthorization includes $100 million in new grants for outreach and enrollment efforts, according to a summary of the bill.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who helped write the bill that created the program a decade ago, said there are a variety of reasons why people do not have their children on the program. Hatch said it takes a lot of money to find them and get them enrolled.

While the bill's price is higher than what Hatch would like, he said it is better to invest in children's health now, to help them be healthy and get the care they need versus paying high costs for them as they become adults.

"It just makes sense to take care of our children," Hatch said.

The Senate bill puts an additional $35 billion over the next five years into the program, financed mainly through a tax on cigarettes. The House bill is higher, at $50 billion.

At the governor's council meeting Tuesday, Crompton urged the council members to work toward making sure more Utah children have adequate health care and insurance.

"Health care would be something to put at the top of your list today," Crompton said. "It really does take leadership and horsepower. Investing in kids is a tough leap of faith for a lot of people."

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