Gov. Robert Bentley

Governor Robert Bentley has made his priorities clear. First, he will not raise taxes under any circumstance. Second, he would cut children’s health care, if that’s what it takes to balance the state’s budget and if the federal government would let him.

The federal government slightly better than 3-to-1 matching funds for the insurance program for underprivileged children, but the state can’t afford its share, Bentley told the Birmingham News. The state has increased premiums and co-pays on some of the most financially strapped families in the state, but even then, the program, called ALL Kids, is running a $10 million deficit.

Bentley wants the federal government to lower the standard for who is eligible for the program. Doing so would cut about 15,000 children from ALL Kids.