By Gabrielle Masson

In 2008, CMS made a clerical error that resulted in an extra $300 million being distributed to 120 hospital-based U.S. nursing school programs.

Previously, Congress set an annual $60 million cap on the funds. In August 2020, the government realized the cap wasn't being enforced and said it would ask for the funds back from a decade of overpayment.

The government's error would cost Springfield, Ill.-based St. John's College of Nursing about $1.5 million in repayment, according to board chair Mike Houston.

"We've been receiving this money for so long, it's just a part of the overall budget that we have," Mr. Houston said Aug. 10.

A bipartisan bill has been filed in Congress that would block CMS from taking the money back, instead waiving the cap on the program and locking it in as permanent funding.

CMS hasn't responded to questions about the timeline of the plan to recover the funds.