By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – The federal government has billed the state Medicaid Agency four-point-four million dollars in penalty fees. It's part of an agreement to end a financing dispute between the state and U-S governments. Alabama Medicaid Commissioner Carol Herrmann initially said the agreement would not cost the state anything. She later admitted she made an error by making that statement. Despite the funding loss, the federal Medicaid program is expected to pay the state nearly four billion dollars during the 2005 fiscal year. The money will cover medical and nursing home care for the state's poor and elderly.