New Jersey is joining seven other states in a lawsuit against the Bush administration to fight for children?s health insurance.

Under proposed federal changes to New Jersey?s FamilyCare Health Insurance Program, at least 10,000 kids in the state could be denied coverage. Democrats in Washington want to expand the State Children?s Health Insurance Program by $35 billion. However, President Bush says he will veto the legislation.

In addition to saying he?ll veto the legislation, Bush sent out a letter on August 17 stating there will be more limits on those who qualify for coverage.

State officials say the new restrictions don?t make sense because the Bush administration had previously signed off on the decision to cover the same children they are now threatening to kick out of the program.

The other states filing the lawsuit are Maryland, Arizona, California, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York and Washington. Nationwide, the program covers 6.6 million children from modest-income families that do not qualify for Medicaid.