School districts and the rendering service providers must enroll as an Arkansas Medicaid provider prior to seeking Medicaid reimbursement for school-based services provided to students.

School-Based Medicaid Application Process

LEA or School District Medicaid provider applications must be submitted to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education  (DESE) School Health Services office. The MITS staff will review and submit applications to the Arkansas Department of Human Services for processing. Once an LEA's application has been processed, the LEA will receive a welcome letter via email from the DESE's MITS Office. The Medicaid provider applications are revalidated every five years.  

• Arkansas Medicaid Provider Application
• Medicaid Application Directions for LEA
• Medicaid Application Directions for Individual Providers

Medicaid applications must be submitted per school-based service discipline area:

• Therapy Services: Occupational, Physical, and Speech
• Early and Periodic, Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) - the vision and hearing portion
• Audiology Services
• Personal Care
• School-Based Mental Health Services

•  NPI Registry
•  NPI Instructions for LEA and Individual Providers

Parental Consent Requirements

FERPA, 34 CFR §99.30  (a) The parent or eligible student shall provide a signed and dated written consent before an educational agency or institution discloses personally identifiable information from the student's education records, except as provided in §99.31.

Special Education regulations require parental consent to release information for the purposes of Medicaid billing for Individual Education Plan (IEP) related services. Local Education Agencies (LEA)s should refrain from billing until the consent is signed by the parent.  Once signed, the consent is valid throughout the duration of the students enrollment in that district and will require parent notification annually.

•  Parent Fact Sheet for Medicaid in the Schools
•  Parent Fact Sheet for Medicaid in the Schools (Spanish)
•  Consent to Release Personal Identifiable Information Form
•  Consent to Release Personal Identifiable Information Notice
•  Consent to Release Personal Identifiable Information Form (Spanish)
•  Consent to Release Personal Identifiable Information Notice (Spanish)

Private Insurance

For students with coverage from a private insurance carrier in addition to Medicaid, Medicaid regulations require the district seek reimbursement of services through the private insurance carrier prior to claiming Medicaid reimbursement. If the private insurance claim is denied, the district may seek a claim denial letter from the private insurance carrier. The denial letter may be used as proof of seeking private insurance reimbursement for the purpose of seeking Medicaid reimbursement for services provided.

For more information, please contact: