Bill would shift Vermont school Medicaid program to Agency of Human Services, boost school reimbursements to 55%

Summary

H.558 would centralize administration of school-based Medicaid services at the Agency of Human Services, create a special reimbursement fund and raise the share returned to supervisory unions to 55%, while instituting a random moment time study and a phased electronic health-record rollout to improve federal compliance and reporting.

Montpelier — Lawmakers reviewed H.558, a bill to move sole administrative responsibility for Vermont’s Medicaid school-based services from a split arrangement to the Agency of Human Services (AHS), create a special reimbursement fund and change how federal Medicaid dollars are split.

At a Legislative Council session, Jen Carby of the Office of Legislative Council summarized the bill’s main features: the state would add a Medicaid School-Based Services Program in Title 33, direct the Department of Vermont Health Access to place federal reimbursements into a new School-Based Medicaid Reimbursement Fund, and give AHS rulemaking authority over program compliance while keeping the Agency of Education (AOE) responsible for coordinating program use with statewide education policy. “The state maximize[s] its receipt of federal reimbursement for medically related services provided to students who are eligible under Title XIX of the Social Security Act,” Carby read from the draft language.

Why it matters: supporters say the change simplifies administration, strengthens federal compliance and returns…

Bill would shift Vermont school Medicaid program to Agency of Human Services, boost school reimbursements to 55%

Summary

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