Insurers Search Urged for Aid Requests

The government, saying Medicaid may be paying as much as $325 million a year unnecessarily, proposed Wednesday to intensify the search for private health insurers that might be dumping their expenses on the health program for the poor.

The Health and Human Services Department proposed new regulations that would require state welfare officials to quiz Medicaid applicants more closely on whether they have private health insurance that should pay for their health care.

The regulations say many people may not realize they have coverage. State officials would be instructed to ask applicants about other factors that often indicate possible health insurance coverage. It suggests such items as whether the applicant or a relative belongs to a labor union, are in the military or have an absent parent who may have insurance.

The regulations also would require state welfare officials to look for possible health coverage under state workmen’s compensation plans and, for auto accident victims, for coverage under the liability policy of the responsible driver.

“In too many cases, Medicaid is footing the bill when other payers should be reimbursing for these costs,” department Secretary Otis R. Bowen said. “The American taxpayer and the Medicaid program should not be paying in cases where others, including private insurance plans, are obligated to pay first.”