WASHINGTON — Health officials in Maryland and other states are scrambling to respond to new Bush administration rules that could effectively end subsidized medical insurance for thousands of children. State officials plotted strategy in a conference call yesterday and are reaching out to governors and congressional allies for help. They hope to block new regulations that limit eligibility for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, a Clinton administration-era partnership between state and federal governments that, supporters say, provides a critical safety net for hundreds of thousands of families. In Maryland, about 3,700 children could be removed from the program under guidelines issued by the Bush administration late last week, roughly one out of every 30 who now get coverage. ‘That’s pretty serious,’ said John Folkemer, Medicaid director in the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The health program has been the subject of intense debate in Washington, with a bipartisan group in Congress seeking to expand the initiative to cover more uninsured children, paid for in part with an increase in the federal excise tax on cigarettes of up to 61 cents a pack. The House and Senate adopted competing measures this month and […]