Feds want state's Medicaid bucks back

Federal investigators are calling for the state of Missouri to pay back at least $8 million in Medicaid funding, arguing that the state's provider tax doesn't follow federal law. The state, which has been fighting with the feds since last year, imposes a tax on hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and healthcare management firms that generates about $1.1 billion per year. The state has leveraged that money to pull in $1.8 billion in Medicaid money from the federal government. The feds are charging that Missouri shouldn't have collected as much Medicaid money as it did, given that it collected charges on items like hospital cafeteria revenue which aren't related to patient care. It's also arguing that the state shouldn't have changed the tax plan without getting federal approval. The state's position, meanwhile, is that it has done nothing wrong; it hasn't yet repaid the $8.2 million investigators have requested.

To find out more about the dispute:
- read this News-Tribune piece

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