July 25, 2007

Committee on Energy and Commerce

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C.20515

Dear Representative:

The American Association of School Administrators, representing more than 13,000 school superintendents and local educational leaders, expresses our gratitude for the inclusion of a moratorium on changes to school based Medicaid claiming in HR 3162, the CHAMP Act. This moratorium will provide necessary financial certainty for districts currently providing health care services to Medicaid eligible students with disabilities.

Medicaid reimbursement for medical services to students with disabilities was specifically included in Medicaid in 1988 in Section 1903 (c).But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, previously known as the Health Care Finance Association,resisted the participation of schools because they did not understand that schools have been delivering medical services since the passage of the original federal special education legislation in 1975 (PL 94-142).The role of schools in health care delivery has grown steadily as the health care system for low-income families and families without health insurance has deteriorated.Currently, health care services in schools are so prevalent thatthere are more than 1,700 school based health care clinics across the country.

AASA supports the reauthorization of SCHIP and sees it as an important asset for improving children’s health and health care.We have worked through theCovering Kids Campaign to urge school districts to be more actively engaged in SCHIP and Medicaid.As you know, schools are under tremendous pressure from No Child Left Behind to have 100% of students achieving at high levels.Children with untreated chronic health care problems such as eyes that do not focus on the same point, infected gums and teeth or asthma will not be attentive learners, will frequently be absent and will not achieve at the levels Congress mandated in 2002.

We must express our disappointment that the CHAMP Act does not contain language from the Protecting Children’s Health in Schools Act, HR 1017.This legislation would insure that schools can continue to be reimbursed for the administrative and transportation costs associated with Medicaid eligible health care services provided to students.School system leaders recognize the important role they can play in outreach to families eligiblefor Medicaid and SCHIP and direct delivery of health care services to 6.2 million students in special education.

The SCHIP reauthorization is an opportunity to extend coverage to more children, streamline program operations and more efficiently distribute funds to states and health care providers, including schools.However, in order to make schools more effective in the outreach and delivery of medical services to students with disabilities, Congress must act to specifically authorize Medicaid administrative claiming and claiming for transportation of special education students on busses designed especially around health care needs.

Thank you for your efforts on this matter and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance.

Yours Truly,

Mary Kusler

Assistant Director, Government Relations