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Farmersville Unified to use Healthy Campus EHR for school-based behavioral-health claims; district says families will not be billed
Summary
District MTSS coordinator Chris Juarez described plans to use CYBHI capacity funds and a Healthy Campus electronic health record to document and bill school-based behavioral-health services. Staff said families would not receive bills and that registration will request insurance data to enable reimbursement.
Chris Juarez, the district’s MTSS coordinator, presented Farmersville Unified’s plan to operationalize the California Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) capacity grant and to use an electronic health record (EHR) system from Healthy Campus to document and submit claims for school-based behavioral-health services.
Juarez told the board the district received a CYBHI capacity grant of $140,000 (allocation based on average daily attendance) and that those funds are intended to support set-up of the electronic health record, Medi-Cal enrollment support and billing infrastructure. He said the district will document services provided by credentialed staff (counselors, social workers, psychologists and the district nurse) and submit claims to Medi-Cal and, where applicable, private insurers. Juarez emphasized the district’s statement that families would not be billed for services: "Families shall not be subject to co-payment, coinsurance, deductible, or any other form of cost sharing," language he attributed to the state statute described in the presentation.
District staff explained operational details: registration will collect insurance information so staff can submit claims; Healthy Campus will host a secured EHR; the district will develop treatment plans and billable notes for students who receive billable services (individual, group, crisis counseling, psychological and health services). Juarez said Healthy Campus will also support training and compliance and that the district hopes to begin onboarding and training in April with targeted claim submissions potentially beginning in May.
Board members asked how the program works in practice: staff said services must be school-based and delivered by district providers to be billable; private, off-campus counseling would not be billed through this system. Staff noted existing crisis referral partnerships (for example Sequoia Youth Services and Tulare County Office of Education crisis teams) would continue where the district does not provide the full scope of a needed service. Juarez acknowledged a remaining question about whether families would receive an insurance Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from their carrier; he said that detail remains under review.
Why it matters
District staff described CYBHI and the EHR procurement as a sustainability tool for school-based mental-health services. By documenting and billing eligible encounters, the district aims to secure reimbursement for services it already provides so the services can be maintained when temporary grant funding ends.
Clarifying details from the presentation
- Capacity grant amount cited: $140,000 (source: Chris Juarez). - Services identified as billable: individual counseling, group counseling, crisis counseling, psychological services and health services (per presentation). - Timeline given in presentation: staff training and onboarding in April; registration and data collection to follow; initial billable submissions potentially in May. - Staff assured families will not be charged for services; the presentation referenced state-level rules requiring insurers to reimburse school-based services without cost-sharing for families.
Quotes
"Families shall not be subject to co-payment, coinsurance, deductible, or any other form of cost sharing," Chris Juarez said, summarizing the state's requirements as described in the presentation.
Next steps and board action
The board approved use of Healthy Campus as the district's EHR partner earlier in the meeting. District staff said they will send parent letters and include insurance-collection fields in registration, and that Healthy Campus will provide training and compliance support. Staff also said counselors will be trained on billable documentation and treatment-plan development.
Ending
Juarez and staff framed the work as both compliance-driven and a path to sustain existing counseling services for students. The board and staff agreed to return with updates as onboarding and initial claims proceed.
