Bush faulted on health coverage

The Bush administration overreached last year when it limited states’ ability to extend health coverage to moderate-income children, government auditors said.

The auditors’ opinion, issued in a letter, may 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% of the poverty level, or $44,000 for a family of three.