Perdue goes to Washington

Gov. Bev Perdue is headed to Washington on Wednesday where among other things she is looking for help on Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor.

Perdue said she hopes to meet with Kathleen Sebelius, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary, to see if the state can get some relief. Perdue estimated that North Carolina's Medicaid program is running at least a $150 million to $200 million shortfall for this fiscal quarter, Rob Christensen reports.

"We are overspending on enrollment," Perdue told reporters Tuesday after a meeting of the Council of State. "We have a lot people out of work who have no money and who qualify for Medicaid."

She also plans to stop by the White House to lobby for a health care bill that does not add too many additional burdens on the states in Medicaid costs.

The primary reason for her trip is a meeting with Energy Secretary Steven Chu to lobby for a major research university grant which she declined to discuss in detail.

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