September/October 2021

Table of Contents

• Financial
• Coding
• School Transportation
• Applications
• General Information
• Upcoming Deadlines

Financial

Reminder: Notifying the SBRC of a Negative Unspent Balance

Districts should calculate their unspent authorized budget (UAB) at the end of each fiscal year to determine if the district ended the year with a negative unspent balance. The determination of whether or not the district ended the year with a positive or negative unspent balance is not contingent upon any anticipated award of modified supplemental amount (MSA) from the School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) (e.g., MSA related to special education deficit, excess Limited English Proficiency (LEP) instructional program costs).

Districts that ended the year with a negative unspent balance are required to notify the School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) in writing by October 15, 2021 (289 IAC 6.5(3)). The notification requirement is satisfied through the completion of an SBRC Hearing Request form or providing an email to Kassandra Cline (see below). Please include the amount by which the district was negative within the district’s notification. Districts incurring a negative unspent balance larger than the amount of their special education deficit will be required to submit a corrective action plan to the SBRC for the December 14, 2021 hearing. Upon receipt of the notification to appear, the district will receive further exhibit guidance.

Questions regarding the SBRC may be directed to Kassandra Cline, SBRC Liaison, at kassandra.cline@iowa.gov or 515-281-4738.

Department of Education Preschool Staffing

Iowa Code 256C.5(4) provides funding to the Department from preschool foundation aid to pay for state administration and oversight of the preschool program. This funding is critical for the ongoing implementation and monitoring of the program.

This is an on-behalf payment. The district will record the amount as preschool revenue with an equal amount recorded as a preschool expenditure. The amount is $33.17 per preschool budget enrollment. The deduction for the on-behalf payment will be spread throughout the ten state aid payments, September through June. This is a reduction to cash flow (state aid) sent directly to the district but does not result in general fund spending authority in excess of state aid received, because it is recorded by the district as both an on-behalf revenue and expenditure. The on-behalf revenue will be recorded in source and project 3117, program 460, and the expenditure in an equal amount will be recorded in function 233X, program 460, project 3117, object 31X.

The FY22 Preschool Funding document for preschool amounts has been posted to the State Payment Information for FY22 page of the Department’s website. The amount remains at the $33.17 per preschool budget enrollment.

If you have further questions, please contact tom.cooley@iowa.gov or 515-725-1120.

Coding

The Iowa Chart of Account Coding, found on the Uniform Financial Accounting page of the Department website, is regularly updated to reflect changes necessary to meet fiscal reporting needs. The most recent update is provided below.

School Transportation

School Bus Driver Authorization

The new school year brings a number of reminders in regard to school transportation.

• Within the Driver Authorization System application, add one or more local contacts.
• Driver authorizations must be current to allow your school bus drivers to legally drive the school bus.
• Update your driver authorization system as needed, including deleting the drivers who no longer drive for your school.
• Print a current authorization for each of your school bus drivers to carry with them when driving the bus.

The vehicle information system (VIS) also requires regular monitoring to be sure all of your school buses are on the list, and those you no longer use have been removed. Complete information on maintaining your VIS can be obtained by contacting max.christensen@iowa.gov or 515-281-4749 or maryjo.clark@iowa.gov.

All types of guidance, forms, links, training schedules, publications, code references, and other information pertaining to school transportation can be found on the School Transportation page of the Department’s website. If you have further questions contact Max Christensen.

Vehicle Information System (VIS) Contact Information

All entities utilizing the Vehicle Information System (VIS) are requested to add local contacts within the application for each of the following areas:

• Vehicle Information System (main)
• Transportation Director
• Lead Mechanic
• Billing/Accounts Receivable

After logging in to the VIS, the entry area for contacts is accessed through the navigation bar located at the top of the page. In the near future, the Department will be enabling enhancements, such as automated bus inspection notification emails, that will rely on the contact information provided in the system.

Environmental Protection Agency School Bus Rebates Available

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of approximately $10 million in rebates to school bus fleet owners to help them replace or retrofit older school buses. Upgrading buses with older engines reduces diesel emissions and improves air quality. EPA will accept applications through 4:00 p.m. EST Friday, November 5, 2021. This is the tenth year of this rebate program to fund cleaner school buses offered under the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA). To learn more about the rebate program, applicant eligibility, and selection process, visit the DERA School Bus Rebates website. Please email any questions about the DERA School Bus Rebates to dera@epa.gov.

Every state that has an application will have at least one awardee. In the most recent round last year, three districts selected to receive rebates were from Iowa, bringing a total of $70,000 of rebate funding into our state.

Applications

Limited English Proficient (LEP) Applications

Two Limited English Proficient (LEP) applications are due this fall. Both applications will be made available on the Iowa Education Portal under the EdInfo menu.

• The LEP Allowable Costs application is currently under development - an announcement will be provided to the field once it has opened for entry. Districts may request a modified supplemental amount (MSA) from the School Budget Review Committee (SBRC) for the costs in excess of weightings and other resources for providing additional instruction to LEP students beyond regular instruction.
• The SBRC Application is due December 1, 2021. This application allows school districts to submit a request for MSA to the SBRC for increased enrollment, open enrollment not on the prior year’s count, and LEP programs beyond the five years of supplementary weighting. More information about the SBRC Application is provided in the School Budget Review Committee Requests article.

The LEP Allowable Costs application will be populated using district data from the Certified Annual Report (FY20 and FY21 CAR), Student Reporting in Iowa (fall 2020 and spring 2021), Certified Enrollment (fall 2020), and Fall BEDS Staff (fall 2020). The application includes only those students who were served in an English Language Learner (ELL) program during the 2020-2021 school year. The LEP Allowable Costs application requires just two fields to be completed to submit a request:

• Line 18: any expenditures included in the total expenditures submitted through the CAR that were not expressly allowed by Iowa Administrative Code, and
• Line 20: the requested amount to be submitted to the SBRC.

A certification deadline for the LEP Allowable Costs application will be communicated to school districts once the application has been opened. In order to file an SBRC request, the following timeline is recommended:

• Submit the amount of the district’s MSA request on line 20 and certify by the communicated due date.
• Add the request as an action item to your board’s November meeting agenda, seeking approval for the MSA request for excess LEP costs for serving English language learners in a Limited English Instructional Program during the 2020-2021 school year. All SBRC requests will be rounded to the nearest dollar; therefore, feel free to seek board approval for the rounded dollar amount.
• Upload the board minutes to the application. The minutes can be added after the application is certified, if needed. There will no longer be an option to email board minutes or share a link to board minutes.

To gain access to either application, submit a request through My Profile in the Iowa Education Portal (upper right corner). If you experience technical difficulties with the LEP Allowable Cost application, try logging into the portal using the Firefox browser. Some of the older applications in the portal have exceeded their technological lifespan and Firefox appears to be the mechanism best suited to complete this year's collection.

If you have further questions regarding completion of either application, please contact tom.cooley@iowa.gov or 515-725-1120, or kassandra.cline@iowa.gov or 515-281-4738.

Operational Sharing

Information in the Operational Sharing application is populated from Fall BEDS Staff; therefore, it is important to enter the sharing information correctly in Fall BEDS Staff at this time. Once the Operational Sharing application is available, the information can be reviewed and certified. Any changes required in the Operational Sharing application must be made in the Fall BEDS Staff application. The deadline to certify Fall BEDS Staff and Operational Sharing is October 30.

For assistance with corrections to Fall BEDS Staff, please contact shelly.neese@iowa.gov or 515-281-3111.
For assistance with the Operational Sharing application, please contact tom.cooley@iowa.gov or 515-725-1120.

The general process for the operational sharing supplemental weighting request is outlined below.

1. Fall BEDS Staff must be updated before your review of the Operational Sharing application begins.
2. The district or AEA holding the shared employee's contract reports the individual’s full salary and benefits according to the individual’s contract.
3. The district or AEA purchasing a portion of the shared individual’s contract reports the purchased service (portion of the salary and benefits). This should be the projected amount to be reported in the local financial system with an object code of 59X when the contract holder is another district or AEA, or with an object code of 3XX when the contract holder is some other governmental subdivision.
4. A shared individual must be reported by all parties as shared. The sharing information can be added or edited by editing the individual’s assignment that is being shared. Shared Status options for operational sharing include the following:
   • We hold employee’s contract & assignment is in both districts.
   • We are the district purchasing services & assignment is in both districts.
   • We are sharing with other governmental subdivisions.
5. The district must select the district that is also a party to the sharing.
   • Use the drop-down arrow to select the sharing partner.
   • Click Add.
   • Click Save.
   • If the contract holder has more than one sharing arrangement for the individual, select the second district that has also purchased a portion of the individual’s contract. Click Add and repeat step 5.
   • Click Save to exit the edit pop-up screen.

If sharing errors are found in Fall BEDS Staff, the errors will most likely be on the other district’s Fall BEDS Staff application. If you see errors on shared staff, have the other district check its Fall BEDS Staff information to see if the sharing status and sharing partner have been completed. A common error is to have one district identify an individual and assignment as shared, but not identify the sharing district. Once the sharing information has been corrected by the other district, click the Check for Errors/Omissions button to clear the error message.

In order to have a curriculum director appear in the Operational Sharing application, the curriculum director must be reported with the position code of 633, Director/Coordinator/Department Head. Individuals reported with the position code of Content/Curriculum Consultant position will not generate operational sharing supplementary weighting.

For new shared positions with another governmental subdivision other than sharing arrangements with another Iowa public school district or AEA, please send a copy of the signed contract to tom.cooley@iowa.gov. This is needed to verify that the duties performed for the governmental subdivision is an eligible operational function (281 IAC 97.7(11)). Sharing arrangements that were approved in a prior year do not need to be resubmitted unless a significant change in the arrangement has occurred.

School Associations Report

The School Associations data collection will be available on the EdPortal once necessary revisions to the application have been completed to reflect changes resulting from the passage of SF 289 during the 2021 legislative session. The tentative due date is November 2.

Iowa Code 279.38A requires boards of school corporations that pay membership dues organizations which directly relate to the functions of the board of directors, to report annually to the local community and the Iowa Department of Education. The board must report the amount paid in annual dues to the organization, any fees paid and revenue or dividend payments received for services the board receives from the organization, and the products or services the school district received inclusive with the membership in the organization.

Districts must report information for four different associations: Iowa Association of School Business Officials (IASBO), Rural School Advocates of Iowa (RSAI), School Administrators of Iowa (SAI), and Urban Education Network (UEN). Due to the legislation noted above, districts are no longer required to provide information regarding the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) to the Department as this will be provided to the Department from IASB. 

Instructions will be provide on the certification page of the report and posted on the School Association Reporting web page. If you have additional questions, please contact tom.cooley@iowa.gov or 515-725-1120.

School Budget Review Committee Requests - Due December 1

The SBRC Application will soon be available for requesting MSA in the following areas:

1. Increased Enrollment – for districts showing Fall 2021 actual enrollment (formerly known as row 7) greater than Fall 2020 actual enrollment. (Iowa Code section 257.31(5)(a))
2. Open Enrollment Out – students identified as open enrolled out in Fall 2021 who were not included in the district’s Fall 2020 certified enrollment count, minus any increase in enrollment described in item 1 above. (Iowa Code section 282.18(9)(e))
3. Limited English Proficient (LEP) Instruction Beyond 5 Years – for resident students included in Fall 2021 certified enrollment who have already received the maximum English language learner (ELL) supplementary weighting and who are continuing to receive ELL instructional services. (Iowa Code section 257.31(5)(j))

This application is prepopulated from each district’s certified enrollment and Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI) submission. In order to complete a request:

• Verify the accuracy of the data. The amounts can change during the Certified Enrollment verification period during the last two weeks in October. Therefore, do not certify the SBRC application until you are confident that your district’s certified enrollment information is correct.
• Enter the amount of a request. Click “Save Values.”
• Certify the application.
• The SBRC considers individual action for each request and appreciates local boards doing the same when acting upon the requests during local board meetings so please do not include requests as part of a consent agenda.
• Each request should be listed as a separate action item considered at the November board meeting. Examples are provided below:
• Increased Enrollment - The district’s administration is authorized to submit a request to the School Budget Review Committee for a modified supplemental amount of $XXX due to an increase of certified enrollment from the prior year. Ayes: ______, Nays: ________The motion _______ by a vote of _____.
• Open Enrollment Out Not on Prior Year’s Headcount - The district’s administration is authorized to submit a request to the School Budget Review Committee for a modified supplemental amount of $XXX for open enrolled out students who were not included in the district’s previous year certified enrollment count. Ayes: ______, Nays: ________The motion _______ by a vote of _____.
• Limited English Proficient (LEP) Instruction Beyond 5 Years - The district’s administration is authorized to submit a request to the School Budget Review Committee for a modified supplemental amount of $XXX related to the English language learning program for students who have exceeded five years of weighting that are included on the Fall 2021 certified enrollment headcount.
• On the SBRC Application page, provide the date of your board meeting and upload a copy of the board minutes authorizing the request(s).

Although the deadline for this application stated in Iowa Code is December 1, your cooperation in completing this request in November will ensure timely presentations at the December 14 SBRC hearing. Prior to the board meeting, check the SBRC Application to see if the maximum request amounts have changed. Please contact kassandra.cline@iowa.gov or 515-281-4738 if the application has been certified and the maximum request amount is no longer correct.

School Board Officers Report - Due December 15

If you have not already done so, be sure to enter your new board officers and any changes in financial leadership in your district or AEA as soon as those changes are known, and before December 15. The data collection is currently available on the EdPortal.

If you have any questions, please contact sandra.harris@iowa.gov or 515-281-5293.

General Information

Suggestions for End of Fiscal Year Reporting Processes

Congratulations on completing the Certified Annual Report (CAR), the Special Education Supplement (SES) and the Annual Transportation Report (ATR). While the reporting processes for these applications are still fresh in your mind, the Bureau of School Business Operations staff would appreciate it if you would take a moment and let us know what you liked and did not like about the process. Suggestions, no matter how small, help inform programmatic changes to improve future processes. While using the applications, let us know if you found the order to be logical and user-friendly, or difficult to follow. Please note any navigation or printing problems you may have encountered, aside from those experienced with the Expenditure Export function and Create Your Own Report (we are already aware of these issues).

If you were a first-time user, let us know if the instructions were helpful and what type of information or training you wish you had before starting the process (be specific). We appreciate your thoughts and ideas for enhancements for our applications, instructions, and trainings.

Please send your comments to denise.ragias@iowa.gov or 515-281-4741.

Home School Assistance Programs and Fall BEDS Staff

The following reminders are provided in regard to reporting of Home School Assistance Programs (HSAPs) in the 2021 Fall BEDS Staff submission.

Program Code
Fall 2021 Fall BEDS Staff. Individuals funded through home school assistance program (HSAP) categorical funding are to be identified with program code of 11.

Assignment Code
Districts with a HSAP must report teachers with appropriate assignment codes of either 60034 or 30004. Teachers in a district’s HSAP can only supervise and/or teach students in grades corresponding to the teacher’s license (Iowa Code 299A.2).

• Teachers supervising or teaching students in grades kindergarten through grade 8 are to be reported with the assignment code of 60034.
• Teachers supervising or teaching students in grades 9 through 12 are to be reported with the assignment code of 30004.

If a teacher is licensed to teach grades kindergarten through 12, the teacher is to be reported with two assignments utilizing the assignment codes of 60034 and 30004. In addition, Iowa Administrative Code 281-31.4(2) states, “A practitioner who possesses only a valid Iowa substitute authorization may neither provide direct instruction nor instructional supervision under this rule.”

For questions related to Fall BEDS Staff reporting, please contact shelly.neese@iowa.gov or 515-281-3111.
For questions related to the home school assistance program, please contact buffy.campbell@iowa.gov or 515-954-8651.

Billing for Open Enrollment, Homeless, and Foster Care

The majority of students who utilize open enrollment attend the serving district on the first day of school, remain enrolled through the last day of school, and never move during the course of the year. For these students, the serving district bills the resident district twice a year. This is relatively simple. All other situations - involving open enrollment and moving - are not as simple. The following information provides a brief review of how billing is to be handled when changes occur during the year.

1. A student is not utilizing open enrollment on count day, moves after count day, and utilizes open enrollment to remain enrolled in the former district of residence, or to attend a different district than the new district of residence.
   • No district is billed for days served under open enrollment for the remainder of the school year. A district cannot bill for the 1.0 funds (last year’s state cost per pupil) or special education costs. If a student utilizes open enrollment to remain enrolled in the same district, the district would have already counted the student in the fall’s certified enrollment count. Billing to the new resident district will begin the following year. 281 IAC 17.8(7)
2. A student is under open enrollment on count day, moves after count day, and continues to utilize open enrollment to remain enrolled in the same serving district or to attend a different district than the new district of residence.
   • In either case, the serving district will bill the district that generated the count on count day. The serving district can bill for 1.0 funds (last year’s state cost per pupil) or special education costs. 281 IAC 17.8(6)
3. A student is identified as homeless and is temporarily living in a different district.
   • A homeless student can attend school in the district where the student is currently living or in the school of origin (the school the student attended prior to or at the point of becoming homeless). If the parent chooses to enroll the student in a different district other than the district where the student is living or the district of origin, then the parent or guardian must apply for open enrollment. A qualifying move must have occurred and the open enrollment should be accepted under good cause. The question of who pays/provides transportation is not negotiable. Under open enrollment, the parent assumes responsibility for transportation. 281 IAC 33.8(4), 281 IAC 17.9(1)
4. A student is placed into foster care. When a foster care placement is made, a “best interest determination” decision will be made regarding the school of attendance, resulting in either 1) remaining in the school of origin or 2) enroll in the district where the the student resides in foster care. 
   1. The student remains enrolled in the school of origin, the school of attendance at the time of foster care placement or change in foster care placement.
      • Whether the student’s foster care placement is within the same district or not, the student’s resident district does not change in the student information system. The student continues to be identified as having the same resident district. The student does not utilize open enrollment to remain enrolled in the school of origin unless the student was already under open enrollment. The attending district will maintain the same enrollment information, but add the foster care indicator on the new enrollment period record. Iowa Code § 282.31(1)(b)
   2. The student does not remain enrolled in the school of origin and enrolls in the district where the student resides while in foster care.
      • If the student does not have an Individualized Education Program (IEP), the student is a resident in the district where he or she is living while in foster care. There is no billing. The student will be included in the district’s general education foster care claim, as long as the district identifies the student as being in foster care. Iowa Code § 282.19(3); Iowa Code § 282.31(1)(b)
      • If the student is under open enrollment while in foster care to attend a district that is not the district of origin or the district where the student is currently living while in foster care, the serving district can only bill if the student were under open enrollment on count day. Otherwise, there is no billing. IAC 281-17.8(6 & 7)
      • If the student has an IEP, regardless of where the student attends school, the resident district remains the resident district where a parent lives, if the parent lives in Iowa. The resident district is billed through the Tuition in Billing application. Iowa Code § 282.31(2)(a)
      • If the student has an IEP and parents do not live or cannot be found living in Iowa, regardless of where the student attends school, the serving district will use the Look Back feature in Tuition in Billing to determine if a district counted the student in the October special education count. If a district counted the student, the district that counted the student will be billed for the student’s educational costs. If no district counted the student on the October special education count, the serving district will bill the state under the foster care claim in the Tuition in Billing application at the end of the year. Iowa Code § 282.31(3); 281 IAC 41.907(5)(c)
      • If the student has an IEP and parental rights have been terminated, the serving district will bill the state under Termination of Parental Rights in the Tuition in Billing application for days served from the date parental rights were terminated. Billing to the state is completed at the end of the year. A copy of the court action is to be shared with the area education agency (AEA) so the Information Management System (IMS) can be updated accordingly. 281 IAC 41.907(6)

When billing can occur for a student under open enrollment, the components to be billed include:

• Tuition,
• Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC),
• English Language Learner (ELL) supplementary weighting (if applicable), and
• Concurrent enrollment/Project Lead the Way supplementary weighting (if applicable).

Email Correspondence

It is becoming increasing difficult to determine district names solely from email addresses. Many districts have shifted to use of abbreviated or mascot-related names, or share personnel and use the same email with both districts. Each of these, without additional identifying information, makes it difficult to determine the district from which the question pertains. When sending the Department an email, please include your school district name in your signature line or in the subject line. Including the district number is also helpful when the question is in reference to an application. Thank you for your assistance!

Medicaid

School-Based Medicaid Eligibility

Iowa Department of Human Services and Iowa Department of Education have long had interagency agreements regarding the DHS provision of Medicaid eligibility data. The last 6-year agreement ended June 30, 2021, and while the new agreement is nearly complete, there are still tasks needed for closing out this 2015-2021 agreement.

The new agreement, and DHS provision of Medicaid eligibility information, cannot move forward without closing out the prior agreement. As a result, the most recent data is July 2021 and the August and September Eligibility Reports that you have received likely look the same as the one received in July. There have been very few Medicaid members disenrolled during the Public Health Emergency (PHE). This would suggest that the July data is probably still current unless the student has been exited from the IEP system.

Here is some additional explanation of this situation. Iowa Medicaid announced, regarding disenrollment doing the Public Health Emergency (PHE), that “Most members will still maintain medical assistance eligibility throughout the PHE.” Additionally, “Members may be dis-enrolled if the member: requests disenrollment, dies, is no longer a resident of Iowa, is erroneously approved, or has aged out of the Hawki program”. For more details regarding disenrollment, please go to https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IACIO/bulletins/2eab8b9. Hopefully this will provide some reassurance while we wait for the updated data.

Until the new agreement is completed and testing of data transfer completed, the Eligibility Verification System (ELVS) system is available for eligibility inquiries.

There are 2 ways to do that:1) the ELVS phone system, or 2) through the EDISS system.

1. The ELVS phone system is an automated 24/7 line in which the caller is asked a series of questions about a Medicaid member (student) and is expected to enter the school district/ AEA National Provider Identifier, then enter the Medicaid ID of the student you are checking on, and then enter a date for which you are checking eligibility. And the caller can check eligibility for other dates for the same student. So, a caller might ask for eligibility for July 1, 2021, and then for August 1, 2021 and then for September 1, 2021. The caller can check on more than one student in the same call. NOTE: If you do not have the Medicaid ID the Phone system allows a check using the student's Social Security Number but education agencies do not get or maintain the SSN.
2. The EDISS system allows a provider to submit many names with date of birth and gender and will get a response as to whether there is a match with the eligibility data. In this situation you do not need the Medicaid ID or the SSN.

You can learn more about the ELVS on the Iowa Medicaid Provider Tools web page.

An announcement will be provided when new Eligibility Reports are available. If you have further questions regarding Medicaid eligibility, please contact jim.donoghue@iowa.gov or 515-281-8505.

Updated Medicaid Exclusion/ Suspension Verification

As reported in the July 2021 School Business Alert, Iowa Medicaid school-based providers must comply with provisions under 42 CFR § 455.436 (Federal database checks) and confirm individuals whose services are billed to Medicaid are not excluded. In order to enroll in the Iowa Medicaid program, and as a condition of re-enrollment, a provider must sign the Iowa Medicaid Provider Agreement (470-2965), which contains this requirement.

The requirement includes checking of two sources to capture exclusions and reinstatements: the federal list provided on the HHS-OIG website and the state’s list, which is linked from the Iowa Medicaid Program Integrity website. Search of these sources is to occur monthly in order to capture exclusions and reinstatements that have occurred since the last search. A provider must report to the Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) any exclusion information discovered through such searches. It is important that you do not bill for services provided by an excluded or suspended individual.

In addition, Iowa Medicaid Program Integrity has asked that participating districts and AEAs provide the name, date of birth, and last four digits of the social security number for any individual providing services that the entity is billing to Medicaid. All items are necessary to provide for a second identifier in case there is a match between one of your individuals and someone on the list. This request is related to 42 CFR §§ 455.400-455.470 and Program Integrity responsibilities to ensure that providers of services are eligible to be reimbursed with federal/state dollars. Please send the list as of September 2021 to Jim Donoghue, Iowa Department of Education Medicaid Consultant at jim.donoghue@iowa.gov.

Updated from the July SBA is the requirement to include the name of individuals who oversee services such as the mental health professional, school nurse or special education teacher. All of this information is expected for school district individuals providing services to your students attending a non-resident district.

To assist with meeting the above outline requirements, a School-Based Provider Search Template has been posted on the School-based Medicaid page of the Department’s website. Each month, complete the template, including the National Provider Identifier (NPI) of your district or AEA. At this time those checks do not need to be submitted. For any questions or assistance with checking the Exclusions databases or Suspension list, please contact Jim at 515-281-8505 or 515-326-1032.

Medicaid Students Who Also Have Employer/Commercial Insurance

Please remind staff that Iowa Medicaid does bill any employer/commercial insurance that the Medicaid student holds. The IEP team or Medicaid lead for the district may not realize this and tell families that signing consent for billing Medicaid has nothing to do with their private insurance, which is not accurate. Iowa Medicaid practices “pay and chase,” meaning that after paying a claim from a district or AEA, if Iowa Medicaid identifies another insurer/ funder, they will send the paid claim information to that other funder and ask to be paid back.

This is something that they are required to do. Section 1902(a)(25)(A) of the Social Security Act requires states to take all reasonable measures to ascertain the legal liability of “third parties” for health care items and services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries. As such, IME has no option but to bill third party insurers when policies exist. This is acknowledged on page 24 of the Medicaid application which reads, “You must agree to assign medical payments from a third party to the Medicaid agency for yourself and others who are eligible for Medicaid for whom you can legally assign benefits, cooperate in getting medical payments from third parties, give the Medicaid agency rights to pursue and get medical support from a spouse, and give the Medicaid agency rights to pursue and get money from other health insurance, legal settlements, or other third parties.”

Upcoming Deadlines

Current and past issues of the School Leader Update.
Current and past issues of the School Business Alert.

If you have suggestions for future SBA articles, please submit them to Sandra Harris at sandra.harris@iowa.gov.

It is the policy of the Iowa Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, political party affiliation, or actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Iowa Code sections 216.9 and 256.10(2), Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d and 2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational Amendments, 20 U.S.C.§§ 1681 – 1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.). If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy by the Iowa Department of Education, please contact the legal counsel for the Iowa Department of Education, Grimes State Office Building, 400 E. 14^th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0146, telephone number: 515-281-5295, or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661-4544, telephone number: 312-730-1560, FAX number: 312-730-1576, TDD number: 877-521-2172, email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.