On October 27, 2011, DHHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement that “she lacked the statutory authority to use my demonstration authorities” to reimburse states for an estimated $4.3 billion they paid for Medicaid services for almost 280,000 beneficiaries who should have been enrolled and compensated for under the Medicare program.  The erroneous payments resulted from an error by the Social Security Administration that classified some disabled enrollees as eligible for Supplemental Security Income, when actually they were eligible for Title II Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments. Eligibility for the SSDI program would, in turn, have resulted in compensation under the Medicare program, thereby saving the states from payouts under their Medicaid programs.  The National Association of Medicaid Directors had requested DHHS to use its demonstration program authority to resolve this longstanding issue, but now must seek another avenue.