Florida risks losing millions of federal dollars if state lawmakers fail to fix the state's health insurance program for poor children during next month's legislative session, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said Tuesday.

Castor, a Tampa Democrat, joined with other top Florida Democrats - U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink - in calling on Gov. Charlie Crist and legislative leaders to add KidCare to the agenda of a June special session called to address property tax reform.

During the Legislature's regular session, which ended last week, House and Senate committees proposed reforms to simplify and consolidate KidCare. The complex program, which relies on a 3-to-1 federal funding match for each enrolled child, has suffered from flagging enrollment owing to administrative barriers.

Both chambers proposed fixes this session that would make it easier for eligible families to enroll in the program and stay enrolled.

But the bills stalled in the Senate, where President Ken Pruitt said he was shelving them for a lack of consensus on the details. Pruitt said he would be willing to revisit KidCare next year, but Castor said this year's negotiations in Congress over the federal State Children Health Insurance Program make quick action by the Legislature critical.

Congress is preparing to reauthorize SCHIP, which provides the federal funding for KidCare. As Congress negotiates the details, Castor said, it will be looking at Florida's enrollment rate in KidCare when deciding how much federal money to allocate to the state.

That's a problem because Florida has not spent enough on the program to reap millions of available federal matching dollars over the years. The state will forfeit $20 million of that funding this year alone.

"The timing is critical because of the reauthorization of SCHIP to be taken up by Congress over the next several months," Castor said. "We've got to be able to argue that even though Florida has lost ground over the last several years, we've made a commitment, we've put in these reforms."

State legislators also are urging special session consideration. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican and chairman of the House Healthy Families Committee, said Tuesday he was sending a letter to Crist, Pruitt and House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami. State Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, sent a letter to Crist Tuesday urging the same.

Sink said that even if Pruitt is right about a lack of consensus on some details, there remain several important reforms that easily could pass - such as electronic verification of records and easier application processes for families.

A spokeswoman for Rubio said he and Pruitt plan to issue a formal proclamation for the special session that deals only with property taxes. The two leaders could issue an additional proclamation later to take up other issues if they choose, as could Crist, but in the latter case, she said, lawmakers do not have to act on the governor's request.

Over the weekend, Crist said he might seek to include KidCare in next month's session. He also is weighing the prospect of adding the state's no-fault auto insurance system, which expires in October, and said he remains concerned about bogging down the special session.

A spokeswoman for Crist did not respond Tuesday to further questions.

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.