The Boyertown Area School District Board of School Directors voted to participate in the Pennsylvania school-based ACCESS program, a Medicaid reimbursement cooperative involving state and federal agencies, after a staff presentation and board questions.

A staff member described the program’s purpose: "The school based access program is a cooperative effort between the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services," and said the program allows schools to request reimbursement for services provided to special-education students who are eligible for medical assistance.

Board members pressed for specifics during discussion. Board member Miss Nyman asked, “What is the rate that we get back? I mean, is it worth our participating in this that we're getting enough back?” Administration said the district can bill for categories including one-on-one paraprofessionals, transportation, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy for students eligible for medical assistance, but that exact reimbursement dollar amounts were not available at the meeting; staff said they would provide the district’s billing and reimbursement figures for prior years after the vote.

During the public and board discussion, a staff representative said the district has received more reimbursement than the salary of the person who processes ACCESS reimbursements, noting that exact historical figures would be supplied to the board. Board member Miss Dieruff voted no on the participation item because she wanted the historical refund numbers available before voting; the motion carried with the majority voting yes.

Administrators said participation does not change or eliminate services that the district currently provides; rather, it allows the district to recover eligible costs from Medicaid. The board approved the ACCESS participation agreement and directed staff to supply specific billings and reimbursement totals from prior years and estimates of expected reimbursements for 2025-26.