MSB News

On January 31, 2008 the Maine Department of Education and the Maine Department of Health & Human Services held a joint conference on the proposed Federal Medicaid changes.  During this conference, several regulation changes were discussed that would potentially have an adverse impact on the reimbursements for Maine school districts.  There are four proposed changes that would have a direct impact on Maine schools.

1)      Targeted Case Management (TCM):  Provided that this regulation is finalized, this will not eliminate TCM but will reduce the amount of reimbursement. Those children who receive case management services from providers outside of the school district will not be eligible for reimbursement.  For districts billing TCM, we will work with your district to determine the impact.  You should expect to schedule a meeting with your MSB representative by the end of March.

2)      Rehabilitative Services: This proposed regulation affects the definition of reimbursable services.  MSB will be working with the state to determine the scope of impact due to the proposed change. We will keep you informed as we find out how the state will implement this change.

3)      Certified Public Expenditure (CPE): Provided that this regulation is finalized, it would require that the money used to draw down matching federal funds should be representative of the actual cost for services. MSB has developed a CPE process in other states and stands ready and able to assist districts with the survey and the actual preparation of the CPE.

4)      Administrative and Transportation Services:  Provided that this regulation is finalized, Administrative and Transportation reimbursements would be eliminated, effective July 1, 2008. Included in the bundled rate (SBRS) are administrative and transportation costs that will cause a reduction in the rates or some alternative cost reduction method. On average, there will be a reduction of up to 6% of the total SBRS reimbursement based on an examination of your district’s students’ identification. MSB will research student information for each district and notify you of the actual financial impact by the end of March.

MSB has been in direct contact with the Commissioner’s office to gain clarification on these changes and will provide updates as soon as they become available. MSB will be posting future information and updates on our website at www.msb-services.com.

MSB will continue to work on behalf of its district to minimize the impact of these proposed cuts by maximizing rightful reimbursements.