The cost of premiums for the Indiana... State Children's Health Insurance Program could double starting on Jan. 1, 2006, under a proposal being considered by the state, the Indianapolis Star reports. Families currently pay between $11 and $24.75 per month for SCHIP coverage, depending on income. If the increases are approved, premiums would range from $22 to $50. The changes do not affect children enrolled in Medicaid whose families pay no insurance premiums. The change would generate an additional $2 million for the $80 million program. SCHIP Director Ann Alley said the state cannot afford to spend much more than it is currently spending on the program, although more children continue to enroll and health care costs are rising. The SCHIP enrollment has risen from 12,695 children in 2002 to nearly 20,000. Alley said raising premiums was a better option than limiting the number of people who can enroll or reducing benefits. "I'm hoping we don't have to raise premiums again," Alley said. "Most of those families would be struggling with their budgets, and when you have to make life choices, health care is not one of them," Fred Mitchell, president of Community Action of Southern Indiana, which provides economic and social services to low-income families in Clark, Floyd and Harrison counties, said, adding, "This could put all our families in the emergency rooms of hospitals. This is a precarious situation." The proposed increase would be the program's first in five years. The state plans to hold public hearings on the premium increases in September (McNeil, Indianapolis Star, 8/5).

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