Feds try to scale back Medicaid payments

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WASHINGTON - The Bush administration issued proposed rules Friday to trim Medicaid payments to schools.

Medicaid is the federal-state health insurance program for poor people.

Schools are currently billing Medicaid for administrative and overhead costs that aren't related to delivering health services to poor people, said Dennis Smith, director for the Center for Medicaid and State Operations.

He said examples have included costs associated with school construction projects and transporting poor students to school.

"They are essentially administrative costs of the education system and should not be billed to the Medicaid program," Smith said.

He said schools would still get reimbursed for transporting Medicaid recipients to offsite health care appointments.

The Bush administration estimates tightening the Medicaid reimbursement rules would save the government $3.6 billion over five years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/schools_medicaid