MSB™ has been contacting out of district providers throughout the state of NH in order to facilitate better communication and efficiencies between the out of district providers, sending school districts and MSB. The importance of effective communication has been emphasized due to the recent changes to the Medicaid to Schools Program related to specialized transportation and the requirement that other covered services must have been delivered on the same day in order to bill specialized transportation to Medicaid. We want to be sure to keep the momentum going with respect to improved communication between MSB, out of district and specialized transportation providers and the sending school districts.
What has MSB been up to?
1. Meeting with individual out of district providers to help them understand Medicaid to Schools Program requirements, and offer forms, processes and guidelines to help them understand what is required by the program.
2. Developing standardized practices and beginning to implement more efficient, effective methods to alleviate duplication of effort and frustration between the sending districts, the out of district providers and MSB. We have drafted a “Letter of Understanding” (LOU) to propose a written plan for how the 3 parties should communicate and break down the responsibilities for each party. This LOU will clarify each party’s contribution towards a successful billing program for the sending districts. We have presented the LOU to several out of district providers throughout the state along with the New Hampshire Private Special Education Association (NHPSEA) for their consideration and possible “endorsement” of the LOU. We think a written understanding between all parties is essential to everyone being on the same page.
3. Presenting to the NHPSEA on Medicaid to Schools Program issues and proposing opportunities for the out of district schools to become better informed regarding Medicaid to Schools Program requirements including:
a. Offering statewide training opportunities
b. Continuing support to out of district administrators and providers
c. Developing the LOU as a guiding document for how to communicate with sending districts and MSB
4. Implementing Lumea™ with an increasing number of out of district providers. One of the biggest challenges that out of district providers face is maintaining a consistent service documentation process. Lumea can bring a standardized, accountability system to out of district providers much like it has to many NH school districts. For a more detailed understanding as to how Lumea works for out of istricts providers and their sending districts, please contact me and we can discuss this in more detail. As new out of district providers come on board with Lumea, we will send email correspondence to the districts that have students placed at the facility or school. We are also advising the out of district providers to inform you of their decision to move forward with Lumea.
5. Requesting meetings with state officials to discuss methods for collecting cost-related information for purposes of accessing Medicaid reimbursement for services provided in out of district locations.
As always, we appreciate the opportunity to partner with NH school districts to maintain a strong, compliant Medicaid to Schools Program. Please let me know what questions you have, or if we can be of additional assistance to you and your teams. Stay tuned for more in the near future!