Rather than submitting bills for actual services provided to Medicaid-eligible children on specific days, school districts in 8 states have been creating and using bundled billing systems, based on assumptions rather than actual claims. Other states are in the process of preparing bundled billing systems. Eighteen states are working with consultants to bill Medicaid for administrative expenditures that support Medicaid services in the schools, with many more states expressing interest. In some cases, consultants receive 20 percent of federal revenue generated through these administrative claims. For example, consultants coach school districts that their personnel should bill Medicaid for any time school personnel spend interacting with Medicaid beneficiaries.
Opportunities exist for padding time records and documentation is poor.
Consulting companies are integrally involved in developing the bills submitted to Medicaid for administrative expenditures, and their payment is linked to the level of the bills they develop. The date and subject of the hearing must appear on the first page of the statement. Five copies of the statement should be mailed to the Editorial Section, United States Senate, Committee on Finance, Washington, D.C. 20510, and also to David Podoff, Minority Staff Director, United States Senate, Committee on Finance, Washington, D.C. 20510. Statements must be received no later than noon on July 2, 1999.