Associated Press - January 25, 2010 6:04 PM ET
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The state health department has reached tentative settlements to repay hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid money the federal government says was misspent years ago.
Gov. Bobby Jindal announced the agreements Monday.
The settlements - which still need final approval from two federal agencies - would lower the interest rates on the money owed and allow for a repayment plan that stretches the heftiest payback over a decade.
The money owed totals $266 million plus interest. Federal officials say the state improperly used Medicaid money to pay for hazardous road claims against the state in the state's self-insurance program and violated federal rules for Medicaid payments to certain nursing homes.
The claims against the state have lingered for several years, threatening other federal Medicaid dollars to Louisiana.
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