The U.S. House approved legislation yesterday to provide health coverage to millions more uninsured children, a move toward President-elect Barack Obama's goal of offering health care to all Americans without coverage.

But whether Gov. Ted Strickland will move forward with a state plan to expand Ohio's version of the State Children's Health Insurance Program won't be known for two weeks.

The bill, passed by an overwhelming 289-139 vote, would provide new funding to states, helping them continue covering the 7 million children enrolled in the program and expand coverage to 4 million more youngsters nationwide.

The practical effect for Ohio is unclear.

In December, the state received approval from federal regulators to expand coverage to children in households earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level: $63,600 a year for a family of four. The move would make insurance available to an additional 31,000 uninsured Ohio children.

Strickland, however, has not implemented the plan because of the state's budget crisis and uncertainty about future federal funding. Now capped at 200 percent of the poverty level, the program covers about 150,000 children.

The governor is expected to announce whether eligibility will be expanded in his State of the State address on Jan. 28.

States operate their own children's health-care programs under federal guidelines.

The Ohio delegation's votes mirrored the wide margin of passage by the U.S. House. All 10 Ohio Democrats voted yes, as did half of Ohio Republicans. Four of the state's eight GOP members voted no: House Minority Leader John Boehner of West Chester, Jim Jordan of Urbana, Bob Latta of Bowling Green and Jean Schmidt of Loveland.

"The fact is that healthy children have a better chance to succeed, and that is always a worthwhile goal," said Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover. "My constituents overwhelmingly support this program, and I am very happy that we are going to be able to provide this much-needed coverage for our children."

Additional funds would come from a 61-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax, projected to raise $32.3 billion over the next 4 1/2 years.

Departing President George W. Bush twice vetoed similar legislation.

Unlike earlier versions, the House bill also would expand coverage to as many as 600,000 noncitizen children of legal immigrants. How many are in Ohio is unknown.

After yesterday's vote, Obama urged the Senate to move quickly to pass the bill so he can sign it into law after he takes office Tuesday.

"In this moment of crisis, ensuring that every child in America has access to affordable health care is not just good economic policy, but a moral obligation we hold as parents and citizens," the incoming president said.

"This coverage is critical, it is fully paid for, and I hope that the Senate acts with the same sense of urgency so that it can be one of the first measures I sign into law when I am president."

The Strickland administration had urged Congress to approve the legislation, saying the additional funds would help Ohio and other states expand their programs.

Whether Ohio increases eligibility to middle-class youngsters "will be heavily influenced by the level of federal funding provided to the SCHIP program," Ohio Medicaid Director John R. Corlett wrote in a letter yesterday to Ohio's congressional delegation.

Dispatch Washington Bureau Chief Jonathan Riskind contributed to this story.

ccandisky@dispatch.com