Senate File 389 allocates $5.7 million to increase income limits for eligibility for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as HAWK-I, to 300 percent of the poverty level, or about $64,000 for a family of four.

The legislation allocates more than $510,000 to provide 11,000 children with dental care in the next fiscal year, and nearly $1.45 million to cover almost 25,000 children in fiscal year 2011.

The governor said since taking office in 2007 more than 32,000 Iowa children have received health insurance through HAWK-I and Medicaid, in addition to the 12,000 covered by the bill signed Tuesday.

“One of my top priorities as governor is to see that every Iowa child has access to the health care they not only need, but deserve,” Culver said. “This legislation moves us closer to our goal, and ensures that more Iowa children will grow up to be healthy adults.”

Parents of uninsured children who qualify for government health-insurance programs would be required to sign them up.

A version of the bill passed in the Senate early in the legislative session created a “health-insurance exchange,” which would have helped uninsured adults find coverage. That portion was stripped out by the House and replaced with a commission to make recommendations on how to improve health care for all Iowans.