An initiative to provide government-funded health coverage for as many as 30,000 uninsured Montana kids will be on the November ballot, state Auditor John Morrison said Tuesday.

Morrison, who has led a broad-based effort to put Initiative 155 before voters this fall, said organizers have collected more than enough valid signatures of registered voters to qualify I-155 for the general election ballot.

If voters approve I-155 this fall and the 2009 Legislature implements the health-coverage expansion, Montana will become a national leader in covering children currently without health insurance, he said.

"It's fair to say we are at the back of the pack (now) among all states in terms of covering kids," Morrison said. "There's no reason for us to be there. This initiative will move us to the front of the pack."

Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who has yet to take a position on I-155, said Tuesday he's already told his budget director to assume it will pass and place it in the next state budget for its estimated $20 million annual cost.

"We're ready to pay for it, if it passes," he said. "If it does pass, that will be the first priority when the Legislature comes to town. Anything the Legislature was hoping to spend money on comes after paying for (I-155)."

I-155 would expand the Children's Health Insurance Plan, known as CHIP, and Medicaid, two government-financed programs that provide health coverage for low- and middle-income kids.

It would increase the income ceiling for CHIP eligibility up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level, or $53,000 for a family of four. The program covers about 16,600 children now, at an income-eligibility ceiling of 175 percent of the poverty level.

I-155 also increases the income ceiling for Medicaid eligibility and will help pay the costs of adding kids to their parents' health insurance policy -- if the family falls under the income ceilings.

Finally, I-155 requires the state to launch an aggressive, coordinated campaign to sign up eligible children for coverage, using schools, hospitals, public agencies, youth sports programs and other "partners."

Supporters of the measure say it should end up providing coverage for 30,000 of the approximately 37,000 kids without health insurance in Montana.

While the Schweitzer administration has estimated the CHIP and Medicaid expansions would cost the state about $20 million a year, Morrison says they also provide a financial bonus for the state: As much as $75 million a year in federal matching funds for health care, because the feds pay 80 percent of CHIP and 60 percent of Medicaid.

The money will go to physicians, hospitals and scores of other health-related professions, creating about $7 million a year in additional state income taxes, Morrison said.

"Frankly, (I-155) is something we can't afford not to do," he said. "The Healthy Montana Kids plan is important not only for kids' health, but for health-care financing in Montana."

Morrison said polls have shown broad support for expanding children's health coverage, and that he's confident the measure will be approved by voters.

Backers of the expansion decided to pursue an initiative process because they couldn't muster enough support at the Legislature, despite public support, Morrison said.

"When you have a super-majority of people who want to cover kids and the Legislature can't get it done, despite repeated attempts, it seems that the initiative process is appropriate for that mission," he said.

Reporter Mike Dennison: 443-4920 or mike.dennison@lee.net