The ASHA Leader - September 21, 2010 - (Page 3)

Medicaid Reimbursement in Schools by Mark Kander Autism and Marriage Parents of a young child with autism have the same divorce rate as all couples, but a study in the August 2010 issue of the Journal of Family Psychology shows that couples parenting an adolescent or adult with autism are more likely to divorce than couples with typically developing older children. The study compared 391 couples whose adolescent or grown children had autism with a sample from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States. After a child reaches age 8, the divorce rate decreased for parents of typically developing children but remained high for parents of children with autism. Search “autism marriage” at www.wisc. edu/research. M edicaid is the federal/ state program that pays for certain health care services for low-income individuals and families. Medicaid reimbursement for services provided in public schools was authorized by Congress in 1989 (Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988). The following questions address major issues related to billing and payment for school-based services for Medicaid-eligible children. This information and additional materials were developed by the ASHA Schools Finance Committee, State Advocacy Team, and Health Care Economics and Advocacy Team, and are available at www.asha. org/practice/reimbursement/medicaid/ SchoolBasedServicesSLP.htm. allow Medicaid coverage of health-related services provided to children under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Q Q Why do schools bill Medicaid for speech-language pathology and audiology services provided in the school setting? The federal Medicaid program allows states to use their Medicaid funds to help pay for certain health care services that are delivered in the schools, with the condition that federal Medicaid regulations are followed. For many children, schools are the primary entry point for receiving needed health and social services. Section 1903(c) of the Social Security Act was amended to Are the professional qualification requirements of a speechlanguage pathologist or audiologist under Medicaid in the schools the same as in health care facilities or private practices? Yes. Federal regulations require that services be rendered “by or under the direction of” an SLP or audiologist. The regulations define a qualified SLP or audiologist as one who has a CCC from ASHA or has completed the equivalent educational requirements and work experience necessary for the certificate. Requirements differ in the two states that do not have licensure programs for SLPs (Colorado and South Dakota). Qualifications vary by state for those who serve as an assistant or “under the direction of” a qualified SLP or audiologist. district’s general fund and be used in a variety of ways, including: • Individualized Education Program implementation • School health services • The hiring of staff or salaries for services provided • Books, supplies, or other school-related expenses • Assistive technology or FM systems • Tube-feeding expenses Schools that receive Medicaid funds for services may return those funds to the program that provided the service. Some school districts, for example, will use funds received from Medicaid for hearing and speech-language services to create innovative intervention programs or to cover SLPs and audiologists’ licensing and association fees, professional development/continuing education, and technology for staff. New Special Education Appointments Sue Swenson, former executive director of the nonprofit Arc of the United States and commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, has been appointed deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. Melody Musgrove, director of business development with LRP Publications and former Mississippi state director of special education, is the new director of the Office of Special Education Programs. Q Q How do schools use Medicaid funds? Each state’s Medicaid plan outlines how a district may use Medicaid revenue. Medicaid reimbursement may go to the How can I get Medicaid funds generated by SLPs or audiologists in my district back into the speech-language or audiology budget? • Talk with your colleagues. Find two or three colleagues who share your interest and are willing to work with you. Also See Medicaid in Schools page 29 Script Training for Apraxia Script training may be successful and functional for clients with apraxia of speech, according to new research in Papers in Press of the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (http://ajslp.asha.org). In the study, three individuals successfully acquired scripts and demonstrated script retention six months post-treatment. Clients reported increased confidence, speaking ease, and speech naturalness. Because principles of motor learning were included in the script training, future research is needed to determine its role in long-term script retention. September 21, 2010 School Salaries Receive $10 Billion Infusion A new federal law directs $10 billion to local school districts to prevent layoffs of teachers and other educators, including school-based speech-language pathologists and audiologists. According to the U.S. Department of Education, up to 161,000 positions will be saved or created with this funding. The legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Obama in early August. The House interrupted its summer recess for an emergency session to pass H.R. 1586 (Education, Jobs, and Medicaid Assistance Act) before the school year began, so that schools could rehire teachers and halt planned layoffs. The Senate already had passed the bill. The bill also authorizes $16 billion for Medicaid funding that will save or create 158,000 jobs, according to the Economic Policy Institute; more than half these jobs will be in the private sector. Funding to offset the cost of these programs comes from closing tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas (a savings of $9.8 billion) and by reducing spending—including cuts in food stamp funds provided in the economic stimulus plan passed last year—by $17.7 billion. For more information, contact Neil Snyder, director of federal advocacy, at nsnyder@asha.org or 800-296-5700, ext. 5614. 3 http://www.wisc.edu/research http://www.wisc.edu/research http://www.asha.org/practice/reimbursement/medicaid/SchoolBasedServicesSLP.htm http://www.asha.org/practice/reimbursement/medicaid/SchoolBasedServicesSLP.htm http://ajslp.asha.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ASHA Leader - September 21, 2010

The ASHA Leader - September 21, 2010
Contents
Teens at Risk: "We're on the Edge of an Epidemic"
Bottom Line
Audiology
New Fluency, Cognition Diagnosis Codes
Schools 2010: Learning and Leadership in Las Vegas
RTI Progress-Monitoring Tools
Classroom Acoustics: What Possibly Could Be New?
Schools Practice: New Research and Online Resources
From the President
Schools Survey Caseload Data
Internet
Identification and Treatment of Landau-Kleffner Syndrome
Buyers Guide
Classifieds
First Person on the Last Page

The ASHA Leader - September 21, 2010