The school nurse Medicaid Outreach Service begun in the 2000-2001 school year has been discontinued effective this school year. The reimbursement program has been discontinued due to new rules published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in May 2003.
The new CMS rules are codified in a document entitled “Medicaid School-Based Administrative Claiming Guide”. The Guide requires a claiming methodology for school nurse Medicaid Outreach Services that varies significantly from the one used in the original program.
To address this new requirement, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) and the Arkansas Department of Human Services are jointly developing a much broader Medicaid administrative claiming program that complies with the requirements of the CMS Guide. This program could be available to school districts as early as next school year.
Until the new procedures have been implemented, districts are to cease filing for Medicaid reimbursements for outreach services.