Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday said she was unhappy with federal officials trying to disallow expenditures made by Kansas on health care for the poor and disabled.

“We’re going to continue to fight for the dollars that we think belong here in Kansas, and work with governors across the country to try to get a more reasonable solution moving forward,” Sebelius said.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid is auditing several programs in the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services to determine whether the state used improper techniques to draw federal matching Medicaid dollars.

State officials said the disputed expenses could total upward of $40 million.

Medicaid provides health coverage for low-income Kansans and is funded 60 percent by the federal government and 40 percent by the state. More than 250,000 Kansans receive assistance.

CMS audits of Medicaid expenses at the state level are occurring nationwide as the Bush administration increases scrutiny of the way states get federal health care dollars, officials said. Any federal payments made in error will be disallowed from the state’s future grants, officials said.