Utah's rise in the percentage of uninsured children and adults has occurred despite Utah's robust economy and low unemployment, conditions that usually lead to a drop in the percentage of uninsured.

The average number of people on Medicaid fell by about 16,500 from last March to 162,217 this past March, and most of the people leaving those rolls are families.

There are about 23,600 children in Utah covered by CHIP.

A major point of contention with the White House was Bush's demand that nearly all poor children eligible for the program be found and enrolled before any in slightly higher-income families could be covered. He originally proposed adding $5 billion to the program over five years but later said he was willing to go higher as long as his conditions were met.

The president also has opposed using an increased tobacco tax to fund the program expansion. The bill includes a 61-cent rise on a package of cigarettes.

Bush's veto in early October of a similar bill was narrowly upheld by the House.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the House will take up the extension question Thursday in a bill that also will make adjustments to Medicare.

"We'll obviously need to put additional money" into the children's health insurance program, Hoyer said, because several states say they will have to remove recipients from their rolls if the current funding level continues into next year.

Utah CHIP administrators say the program can operate unaltered and without enrollment adjustments at least through February.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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E-mail: jthalman@desnews.com