Administration Looks to Curb Growth of Medicaid Spending

By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 - Federal officials are sending auditors to state capitals across the country to investigate techniques used by states to shift hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid costs to the federal government.

Also, under a proposed federal rule, the Bush administration will require states to prepare annual estimates of total improper payments and calculate payment error rates for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. States will have to identify the cause of each error, address it and recover any overpayments to health care providers.

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