Should I sign the Medicaid reimbursement form that FCPS included in my IEP?

Anonymous
IDEA-Section 1903 (c) of the Social Security Act prohibits the Secretary of Education from refusing to pay or otherwise limiting payment for services provided to children with disabilities, which are funded through IDEA under an IEP or IFSP. Under these circumstances, Medicare is the primary payer to the U.S. Ed. As such, Medicaid-covered services provided under an IEP or IFSP are exempt from the free care rule. This means that providers may bill Medicaid for Medicaid-covered services provided to children under IDEA even though they may be provided to non-Medicaid eligible children for free. However, the requirements to bill all liable third parties for services still apply. Therefore, although the services would be exempt from the free care rule, the school would still have to pursue any liable third party insurers for reimbursement.

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Under IDEA, children are entitled to a free and appropriate public education. Therefore, schools' policies regarding health insurance billing and the potential for an associated cost to the family determine whether a school would actually choose to bill private insurers for services covered under an IEP or IFSP. U.S. Ed. cannot compel parents to file an insurance claim if filing the claim would pose a realistic threat that the parents of a child with a disability would suffer a financial loss not incurred by similarly situated parents of other children. The private insurance of parents cannot be billed for IDEA services unless the parents agree to such a cost. Because third party liability requires Medicaid to be the payer of last resort and pay only after private insurance, Medicaid can not be billed for the IDEA services either.

From the ASHA website. As you can see, a complicated issue.
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