Building support at the state and local levels will help ensure the success of efforts to change a state Medicaid plan or state laws related to school health services. It is important to identify the key health and education decision-makers and to engage them from the beginning, along with agency staff who work on these issues day-to-day.
State Medicaid Agencies: Medicaid Director or Deputy Director
Depending on the direction of the coalition’s policy goals, the group may want to engage staff with expertise in issues such as benefits and coverage, managed care contracting, school-based Medicaid programs, the claiming/reimbursement process for schools, and the process of credentialing schools and school-based providers for Medicaid. It is also important to include Medicaid’s legal counsel for questions on medical necessity, consent, data sharing and documentation.
State Education Agencies: Chief State School Officer (or Key Deputy)
Additional staff to engage might include those who oversee the school-based Medicaid program, special education and efforts to advance safe and supportive school environments, and staff members who oversee school health grant programming, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1801 grants and Project AWARE grants. It is also important to include the state education agency’s legal counsel for questions related to data sharing and contracting.
Local Educational Agencies (LEAs): District Superintendent (or Deputy), School Board Members, District Budget Director or Legal Counsel
Other partners might include special education directors, LEA billing specialists, school nurses, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other school-based providers, as well as the unions representing in-school staff.
