AASA Releases New Medicaid Report-- Leads Letter to CMS

Two Medicaid in schools related pieces to share in one blog post! The first is that yesterday we released our brand new report called Structural Inefficiencies in the School-Based Medicaid Program Disadvantage Small and Rural Districts and Students, which describes how immediate Congressional action could ensure school districts of all sizes can deliver healthcare services more efficiently and to a greater number of students. We were thrilled the report reflects the viewpoints of over 750 school leaders in 41 states and their experience participating in the school-based Medicaid program in their states. 

At a time when we have an uptick in children who lack health insurance coverage and a surge in children coming to school with unaddressed mental health needs, there is an urgency to improve the reimbursement stream for school-based Medicaid programs so
schools can deliver more services to more students. We believe the passage of federal legislation, “The Improving Medicaid in Schools Act” would allow states to implement a uniform, cost-based reimbursement methodology that would ensure districts of all sizes can be reimbursed by Medicaid for meeting the healthcare needs of their students regardless of their administrative capacity and student population. The proposal leverages an existing and proven process for Medicaid claiming that ensures strong accountability measures are still in place, but that will simultaneously reduce the burden
on State Medicaid Agencies and insurance companies
to manage and respond to a high volume of Medicaid transactions from districts.

You can read the report and executive summary at aasa,org/Medicaid/

Related to this report, AASA and Mental Health America led a letter signed by over 40 national education, health and child welfare organizations to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare asking that they provide greater opportunities for districts to share the barriers they are facing in participating in the Medicaid program.