Utah officials want to make sure all children in the state are covered by health insurance.

Gov. Huntsman and the state Department of Health are working on a plan for mandatory insurance coverage for children. Huntsman's office expects to unveil a plan next month.

It is part of Huntsman's initiative to cut the number of Utahns without insurance in half by 2010. Currently, the state estimates that there are 292,800 people without insurance, 71,000 of them children -- although the U.S. Census Bureau and poverty advocates say the number could be higher.

Utah attempted to address the uninsured child issue before with its Children's Health Insurance Program. CHIP provides low-cost insurance for needy families, but enrollment is limited and it is voluntary. The plan Huntsman and the health department are trying to hammer out would require insurance coverage for children.

The plan will surely run into opposition. Utahns, by nature, are wary of any government interference with their daily lives, no matter how well-intentioned. Others may see it as the first step toward socialized medicine and a nightmare of health care rationing.

As a society, we accept the government's intervention when a child is being abused or neglected at home, for example. If the government requires people to have insurance for their cars, shouldn't it require that they provide coverage for their children's medical bills as wellfi

While the concept of insuring all children sounds very nice, it is rife with questions and potential unintended negative consquences. We venture to guess that the reason many people don't have insurance is that they really can't afford it. So the idea is to have the state take up the slack.

Without some kind of insurance, people are less inclined to see a doctor for relatively minor health problems. They will wait until an illness becomes serious before seeking help. For the uninsured, that means either paying large sums out of pocket or relying on a hospital's charitable care. In the latter case, the rest of us wind up paying for it through higher health care costs.

But the state needs to proceed carefully to ensure that they are all answered satisfactorily before implementing any such program. For example, how does one enforce the mandatefi Should the state require parents to provide proof of health insurance when they register their children for school -- something like immunizationsfi Does the state need to start checking for insurance coverage as soon as a birth certificate is filedfi

And what should be done with those who simply don't complyfi In Massachusetts, which enacted a law requiring all residents to have health coverage, those who do not get insurance can be fined between $2,000 and $6,500. That would be an ironic punch in the nose for the poor. Would a hefty fine be an appropriate punishment for someone who cannot afford health insurancefi (One might also ask whether we want Utah to become like Massachusetts in any respect whatsoever.)

Then there is the question where will the insurance come fromfi Are there private companies that will provide the insurance Utah wants at a price that is reasonable to both the state and low-income consumersfi While many Utahns get health coverage through their employers, that's not an option for the unemployed or those working jobs without any insurance benefits. The state's Medicaid program could take in some of the children, but that raises a funding issue.

The price tag remains unknown at this point, although Huntsman has previously estimated it at $22 million to $25 million. The state is already struggling with Medicaid, having to seek private donors to cover the $2 million needed for dental care coverage for the poor.

What cost controls will be put in place to ensure premiums do not increase rapidlyfi Should coverage be limitedfi Should doctors and hospitals be required to provide discount services to those getting insurance through the statefi

There are so many questions yet to be answered in connection with this warm-hearted plan that we advise putting on the brakes. A delay is preferable to a financial and administrative boondoggle. Come to think of it, with health insurance provided by the state, unemployment is looking better all the time.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A6.