Medicaid Cuts Might Not Affect USD 489 (KS)

July 2, 2010

Changes to Medicaid billing regulations, which might cost Kansas school districts up to $8.5 million, is unlikely to affect Hays USD 489.

According to Superintendent Fred Kaufman, cuts in Medicaid reimbursements for special education students might not affect USD 489, as the district has not received those funds in the past.

"What our concern is, if they take it out of some other part of special ed to fund it for those that did have it, then it will be a problem," he said.

Special education directors were notified in an e-mail and conference call last week that their schools would not be reimbursed for attendant care services because of a new interpretation of Medicaid regulations.

As of today, Kansas school districts will be unable to file Medicaid claims for attendant care services, which include hands on assistance for the functional needs of students with physical disabilities.

However, the Kansas Health Policy Authority said education organizations still could come out $5 million to $15 million ahead statewide if the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approves an amended state plan that includes a provision for school districts to submit cost settlement claims for actual expenses at the end of the fiscal year.

In a June 23 Hutchinson News article, KHPA spokesman Peter Hancock said KHPA is trying to get a definitive statement from CMS on what charges it will accept and plans to pass that information along to schools "in a matter of days, not w eeks."

Hancock said schools receive less from reimbursement from Medicaid than their actual costs for services to special education students.

KHPA submitted a proposal to allow the schools to submit a "cost settlement" claim at the end of the school year for their actual costs, less money they had already received.

When CMS examined the proposal, it told KHPA that if attendant care services were provided to children in a school setting, the same services must also be provided to all other eligible children, regardless of the setting. Hancock said that would have increased the cost to the state general fund from $5 million to $10 million.

As a consequence, KHPA now proposes to drop attendant care services from the plan and have schools submit cost settlement claims for a broader range of services, including psychological services.