Schools losing money on Medicaid

Too much reporting, not enough return

The Gunnison Watershed School District is one of the last holdouts on Colorado’s Western Slope getting Medicaid money for a service that administrators say is costing more in time and resources than the federal government is willing to pay. But that could be changing.

At a school board meeting on Monday, August 26, superintendent Doug Tredway told the board he and the Administrative Council (AdCo) have been discussing discontinuing the program and plan to return to the board with a recommendation once the details have been worked out.
“It’s to the point where we’re spending more than we’re getting back on Medicaid. The regulations are so tight and there are so many requirements, it’s just so much work that it’s not worth doing it anymore,” Tredway told the board.
The district receives about $25,000 a year in Medicaid reimbursement for students who meet certain criteria, like requiring occupational or speech therapy, or needing special care from the school nurse. But for the financial return, the reporting requirements are high and the impact is limited.
Tredway explained that the district is reimbursed only for the time of a select few employees with certain qualifications. Because of that, the district may actually have to pay back some of that Medicaid money after one of those qualified employees was forced to take a medical leave of absence last year.
“Since only certain students and only certain people with specific qualifications can be reimbursed for their time, what ends up happening is they often spend as much time tracking their time as they spend with students,” Tredway said, adding that the district could still meet the needs of students without the money.
Tredway said he would return to the board with a recommendation about how to move forward when the details are settled.