If you're a supt who hasn't taken action to protect Medicaid in schools now, you're missing a major opportunity to make a difference in the debate on Capitol Hill
As a school leader you know school-based Medicaid programs are really important to students, to school personnel and to communities. We need Congress to understand this point now more than ever. Please take 5 minutes. Make a call, send an email, do whatever you can to weigh in with your Senators. If you miss the opportunity to protect school-based Medicaid programs you are missing an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in this debate.
Below are your talking points. Download this sample letter and make it your own. If you prefer to call, there is
also a script for that below. If you aren’t sure how much money you get as
a district, feel free to refer to the state numbers that I have attached.
Please share this widely with your staff and other school leaders you know.
General Talking Points
·
Medicaid
provides critical health care services to children across the country in a
variety of settings, including in schools.
·
Medicaid
pays for some services in school settings for eligible Medicaid-enrolled
students. This is an efficient and impactful delivery system because schools
are where children are. Increasing access to health care services through
Medicaid improves health care AND educational outcomes.
·
Medicaid
funding to schools is critical to ensuring access to services for these
students. Without Medicaid funding, schools will be unable to meet student need
and already strained school budgets will not be able to keep up.
·
Proposals
to cap federal funds directly shift costs to state budgets—and state budgets
are already strained.
Consequences of Block Grants or Per Capita Caps
· Cuts or changes to Medicaid
funding could undermine Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment
(EPSDT). The goal of EPDST is to assure that health problems are diagnosed and
treated as early as possible, before the problems become complex and treatment
more costly. Changes to the funding structure of Medicaid could limit the
availability of critical and cost-saving preventative care.
· Together with CHIP, Medicaid
has been enormously successful in providing access to health services to more
than 44 percent of our nation’s children. From vaccinations, well-child
check-ups, and chronic disease management, to oral health, vision care, and
prenatal care for expectant mothers, Medicaid ensures that children get the
services they need to grow, develop, and go to school ready to learn.
· Children constitute
approximately 44 percent of the Medicaid beneficiaries, but only about 19
percent of the costs for Medicaid. Current proposals to cap or limit state
funding are misguided and threaten to disproportionately harm children’s access
to care.
· Block granting Medicaid could
result in reduced eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP, coverage of fewer
services, lower payments to providers, or increased cost-sharing by
beneficiaries — all of which would reduce access to care.
· Reduced funding via block grants
or per capita caps will disproportionately harm our nation’s children.
·
Per capita cap serves only to cut federal costs by setting
arbitrary limits on federal Medicaid spending. This would be equally
devastating for the vulnerable populations that rely on Medicaid, including
primarily, low-income children, and the disabled.
Sample
Call Script/Talking Points
Call (202) 224-3121 and ask the switchboard operator
to be connected to your Senator’s office.
Once
connected, be sure to introduce yourself and identify yourself as a
constituent.
“I am
calling to urge Senator [XXX] to reject any proposal that significantly cuts
Medicaid and institutes a block grant or per capita caps. School-based Medicaid
serves as a lifeline for children who can’t access critical healthcare and
services outside of their school. This proposal will have devastating effects
on children, especially those with disabilities that we serve in my district. I
urge Senator xxx to oppose any effort to restructure Medicaid and jeopardize
the ability of school districts to continue to receive Medicaid funding on an
as-needed basis. Thank you for passing this message along to the Senator.”