Medicaid program; third party liability for medical assistance; FFP rates for skilled professional medical personnel and supporting staff; and sources of state share of financial participation--HCFA. Proposed rules.

These proposed regulations would--(1) Broaden the scope of services for which a State must collect from third parties the cost of medical assistance furnished to Medicaid recipients, remove the specific requirements for the terms of cooperative agreements for third party collections, and revise the methods of paying claims involving third party liability; (2) Clarify criteria used in determining whether skilled professional medical personnel and supporting staff involved in the administration of the Medicaid program quality for 75 percent Federal matching; and (3) Clarify policy to permit public and private donations to be used as a State's share of financial participation in the entire Medicaid program, instead of only for training expenditures. The proposed amendments would clarify policy and reduce program expenditures.