Parents can check their children's eligibility and apply online at www.health.utah.gov/chip or by calling 1-877-KIDS-NOW. The Utah Department of Health is accepting enrollment applications for the state's program now through Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.

As of Aug. 1, Utah's CHIP had 36,005 children enrolled, spokeswoman Jennie Erickson said. For federal fiscal 2007, the program has a $51.3 million budget, with the state contributing $10.3 million and the remainder coming from the federal government.

According to today's report, children who are not insured for an entire year are less likely to receive any medical care. In Utah, 28 percent of children who were uninsured for all or part of 2003 received no medical care at all. For those children with insurance all year long, only 16 percent failed to receive any medical care.

The report also shows that non-white children have higher rates of uninsurance, with Hispanic children at the highest rate of uninsurance — 21 percent nationwide in 2003-04. In the same time period, white children had a 7.5 percent uninsurance rate.

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com