VIRGINIA BRIEFING
VIRGINIA BRIEFING
Saturday, September 30, 2006; Page B02
SENATE RACE
Allen Missteps Bolster Webb Funds
Virginia Democratic Senate candidate James Webb will report having raised more than $3 million during the past three months, according to two sources familiar with the campaign.
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The reporting period for federal candidates ended yesterday, and their campaigns are required to report their fundraising by Oct. 15.
Fundraising totals for Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) could not be determined.
Webb, a former Marine and first-time politician, has struggled to compete with Allen's fundraising prowess. After winning the Democratic primary in July, Webb was left with almost no money, while Allen had a war chest with almost $7 million.
But controversies that have dogged Allen during the past six weeks have boosted contributions to Webb, the Democrat's campaign aides said.
-- Michael D. Shear
HEALTH INSURANCE
Families Struggle With Benefits
One out of every 11 children in Virginia is not covered by insurance, a study of census data found.
Of 172,000 uninsured children in the state, about 70 percent live in families where the income is twice the poverty level, or $33,200 for a family of three, according to the study by Families USA, a nonprofit organization that seeks to obtain affordable health care for Americans.
Although states such as Virginia have made strides in increasing the availability of health insurance to poor children, pressures on working families from reduced health-insurance benefits are taking a toll, officials said.
"What we're seeing is reduced health insurance, especially for children and the spouse," Karen Cameron, executive director of the Central Virginia Health Planning Agency, said Thursday.
The state government has broadened eligibility and streamlined the application process for obtaining children's health insurance in recent years.
From January 2002 through last month, the number of children enrolled in either Medicaid or the federal-state children's health-insurance program called FAMIS increased by 136,750.
Since July, however, as many as 3,000 children a month have been dropped from the rolls because of new Medicaid eligibility rules that require proof of citizenship.
-- Associated Press
