WBRZ - Baton Rouge

The Department of Health and Hospitals is proposing millions of dollars in cuts to rates paid to private health care providers for taking care of Medicaid patients.

DHH officials say the cuts would save more than $232 million annually and would take Medicaid spending for private providers to what was paid in the 2005-06 budget year.

They also say slashed payments to hospitals, nursing homes and others could jeopardize patient care and shrink the number of providers willing to care for Medicaid patients.