The Secretary of the United States Department of Education proposes eliminating the requirement that parents submit written consent before a school can access the child’s Medicaid or CHIP account to pay for services at that school. The proposal aims to make it easier for schools to provide Medicaid services (such as speech therapy or mental health support) while children with disabilities are in their care.
Currently, the government doesn’t require schools to have parental content to access Medicaid or CHIP for children without disabilities, and the Secretary’s new rule is designed to align children with disabilities and without them. However, children without disabilities tend to use fewer Medicaid-eligible services at school, while children with disabilities often use many more.
This proposed change could unintentionally create problems for families and children, though. It increases the likelihood that families might not know about a service their child receives at school. The school might not tell families that the school used all of their child’s approved Medicaid units and Medicaid can no longer cover community services the child has been receiving.
We encourage parents and other caregivers raising children to share your comments about whether you think schools should or should not be required to obtain your consent before billing Medicaid for services at school. You can submit your comment at this link. Comments are due by August 1.
At Families as Allies, we realize there are many ways that schools and Medicaid can work together and coordinate paying for services. We are committed to working on that with families and our education and Medicaid partners at the table.
