Illinois School Medicaid Snapshot
Expansion of School Medicaid Program
Illinois is in the process of expanding its school Medicaid program to include all medically necessary services delivered to all Medicaid enrolled students.
Coverage & Billing
Illinois covers the following school-based health services:
- Audiology services
- Developmental assessments
- Hearing screening
- Medical equipment
- Medical services
- Medical supplies
- Nursing services
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Speech Therapy
- Psychological services
- School health aide
- Social work services
- Transportation
- Vision screening
Eligibility: Medicaid-eligible children under 21 for covered services that are medically necessary for development of IEP/IFSP or fully documented in IEP/IFSP.
Billing: The billing providers are LEAs (school districts, special education cooperatives, schools administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services). Rendering providers are not required to enroll in Medicaid. School-based services are carved out of managed care capitation payments.
Reference Document: Illinois Handbook for LEAs
Nursing Services
Nursing services are covered as: professional services relevant to medical and rehabilitative needs, provided through direct service intervention or consultation, including:
- Medicaid administration and monitoring
- Catheterization
- Evaluations and assessments
- Tube feeding
- Suctioning
- Monitoring health conditions
- Providing information and recommendations care
Providers types eligible for reimbursement:
- Licensed RN
- School nurse (LSN) with a Type-73 certificate or ISBE-equivalent endorsement in school nursing
- LPN under direction of RN or LSN
Reference Documents: Illinois Handbook for LEAs
Behavioral Health Services
Behavioral health care is covered in schools as:
- Testing and evaluation
- Behavioral evaluations
- Therapy & psychological services
- Crisis Intervention
- Social work services (counseling, screenings, assessments, therapy, social development, crisis intervention)
Providers types eligible for reimbursement:
- Psychologists with Type-73 certificate or ISBE-equivalent endorsement in school psychology
- Licensed Psychologists
- Psychologist Interns with ISBE approval, under direction of qualified school psychologist
- Social worker with Type-73 certificate or ISBE-equivalent, endorsed in school social work
- Licensed Social Worker (Master’s)
- LCSW
- Social Work Intern with ISBE approval under direction of qualified social worker.
State Plan lists practitioners not described above (e.g., APN with psychiatric specialty, LMFT, clinical professional counselor, “Qualified Mental Health Professionals”), including practitioners under supervision.
Reference Document: Illinois Handbook for LEAs
Research Methods & Limitations
The information provided in this analysis represents findings from a 50-state review of publicly available information, most of which was available online as of March 15, 2021. In general, state Medicaid programs require healthcare practitioners to be licensed or authorized in the state in which they are practicing, and services are typically limited to those within the practitioner’s scope of practice under state law. The review for this project did not account for changes that may have been made to Medicaid coverage in response to COVID-19. It also did not include information related to state Medicaid coverage for Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapy in school settings.
Contact your state’s Medicaid agency to verify specific program requirements related to reimbursement. State Medicaid requirements may change at any time, and the information in this document should not be considered as legal or compliance advice.
Prepared by Healthy Schools Campaign. For additional information, visit the School Medicaid Map.
