Legislation Would Also Strengthen Accountability in Use of Medicaid Funds

Washington, DC (July 20, 2006) – Today, Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) co-sponsored legislation to ensure that school children with disabilities will continue to receive the health services they need to stay in school.  H.R. 5834, the “Protecting Children’s Health in Schools Act of 2006,” requires reimbursement for school districts that will spend an estimated $3.6 billion in Medicaid expenses over the next five years.  This spending covers the cost of medical and health-related services that many of the nation’s 7 million school children with disabilities need in order to stay in school. 

“Children with disabilities deserve the same rights and opportunities as other students in school,” said Hinojosa.  “Every child in this country deserves an education, and these services ensure that children with disabilities are afforded the opportunity to learn side by side with their peers.”

The threatened funding serves a variety of purposes, such as providing medical equipment for buses to meet specific children’s needs, providing transportation for children from school to their medical appointments, and covering the administrative costs of identifying children who need special medical and learning services.
 
“Without these medical services and support programs, millions of children wouldn’t be able to attend school, and would be quite literally left behind,” Hinojosa continued.  “We must not misplace our priorities, and we must not cut funding that affords children an education.”
 
Specifically, the Protecting Children’s Health in Schools Act would:

• Establish guidelines for ensuring school districts and third-party agents are held accountable for accurate Medicaid claims;
• Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish uniform methodologies for Medicaid claims submitted by schools;
• Provide full Federal matching payments to the school district if it incurred the full expenditure for services; and,
• Ensure that responsibilities for coverage and payment of school-based services is clearly delineated in Medicaid managed care contracts.

The legislation is supported by the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the National Rural Education Advocacy Coalition, the Council of Great City Schools, and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, among others.