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Washington – U.S. Senate Democrats are said to be cutting back on their proposed expansion of a health insurance program for children. That’s according to a Republican lawmaker involved in the discussions.

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch says the Democrats are looking to increase spending on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by $35 billion over five years. That would be 15 billion less than they had originally discussed.

Hatch says Democrats would pay for the expansion through an increase in the federal excise tax on tobacco, which now stands at 39 cents a pack.

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus says lawmakers are working out final details of a package that he plans to unveil later this week. He and other lawmakers declined to discuss the details.

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program subsidizes the cost of insuring those children living in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance.