Speech/Language Pathologists An Overview

Federal regulations permit and encourage school systems to recover costs from public health insurance (Medicaid) for services identified in a child’s IEP. The Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act (Public Law PL July 1, 1988)

 PGCPS Medicaid recoveries have increased by 34% for SY  $9 million recovered annually and funneled back to Special Education

 The school district bills Medicaid for face- to-face health-related IEP assessments and services: ◦ Speech/Language Therapy ◦ Occupational & Physical Therapy ◦ Nursing ◦ Psych Services ◦ Nutrition Services ◦ Audiological Services

 The school district also bills Medicaid for other IEP services: ◦ IEP Coordination Services ◦ Specialized Transportation ◦ Autism Waiver

 Active IEP  Health-related discipline documented on IEP as a related service  Billed services relate directly to IEP  Medicaid eligible student under 21  Qualified practitioner (proper licensure/ certification, etc.)

For direct (face-to-face) health related services -  Possess a current full license from State of Maryland in “Speech/Language Pathology”  Possess a limited license (CFY) with supervisory restrictions  For IEP service coordination -  Possess a Master’s Degree. You do not need to be licensed to bill for IEP coordination services.

Billing forms sent to schools by 10 th of each month SLP/OT/PT completes billing forms and attaches Service Logs Billing forms due back 5 th of following month

In general, the required documentation for Medicaid billing is:  Monthly Service Record form  MD Online Related Services Log  Copy of Evaluation Report (when billing under code 42 – Speech evaluation *) *Speech/Language evaluations are billable for Medicaid regardless of whether the student qualifies for services.

◦ Date of services (billable dates only) ◦ Type of service in “Encounter Code”  42 S/L Evaluation  43 S/L Therapy Individual  46 S/L Therapy Group ◦ Session Number ◦ “See attached log” in Comments field ◦ Sign & Print Name ( original signatures only ) ◦ Attach supporting documentation

 Service Log Documentation: ◦ Include start and stop times ◦ Write a goal for each session ◦ Write goal in measurable terms (e.g. 50% accuracy or 1 out of 2 times) ◦ Write detailed description of your service/ therapy; include a measurable outcome (e.g. 3 out of 4 times) ◦ Sign the log and initial each session

 Update Related Service Log  Denote “M/U” in “Type of Service” field  Include in the “Description of Services Provided” field  The date of the missed session (example: 7/11/2013)  Description of services provided  A Make-Up session cannot be billed on the same day of another session

 Non Billable Services - Do not list any other type of session ( i.e., IEP Meetings & Consultations) on the Monthly Service Record.  Absentee Dates – Do not list any date(s) a student was absent. Verify all dates billed against the student’s attendance record.  Good Housekeeping Do submit forms by the 5 th of the following month. Do submit a MD Online Service Log for each billing month. Please do not send one log for multiple months of billing. DO staple the MD On-line Related Service Logs to the Monthly Service Record.

All Medicaid Monthly Service Record Forms should be returned to the Medicaid Recovery Office even when services were not provided during the month. It is very important that we maintain an accurate accounting of all forms. When forms are returned to the Medicaid Recovery Office the schools/providers are given credit for the submission of the forms regardless of whether services were provided during the billing month.

 A Few Minutes of your Time is Worth $150 ◦ Only TWO forms to bill ◦ Less than 5 minutes to complete  Completing the Forms ◦ IEP Service Coordination Form ◦ IEP Progress Report

1 Health Related Services Manual Provides guidance related to understanding federal and state MA regulations billing procedures and process. 2 Medicaid Recovery Office Website Provides access to the Medicaid Health Related Training Manual, Monthly Service Record forms, Parent Consent forms, and Change of Status forms, { 3 Medicaid Staff We are available to personally assist you.

Please visit our website for the most current information and forms.