Nation IN BRIEF : ILLINOIS : Hospital Bills Paid for Absent Patients

Illinois billed the federal government nearly $5 million over three years for psychiatric care for Medicaid patients who already had left the hospital, according to an audit. Some patients were still being claimed up to eight years after their discharges, said investigators for the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. The mistakes were blamed on computers and state employee errors. Medicaid is a federal-state program that provides health care for poor or disabled people. The costs are evenly split between Washington and the state.