Administration faulted on child health plan limits

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration overreached last year when it limited states' ability to extend health coverage to moderate-income children, government auditors said in a letter released yesterday.

The auditors' opinion might not bode well for the administration as it battles multiple lawsuits challenging changes it made to the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

The policies made it harder for states to extend government-sponsored health insurance to children whose family's income exceeds 250 percent of the poverty level, or $44,000 for a family of three. Several states want to expand their programs to cover families above that income level.