Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover school board 10-16-15
The Hoover Board of Education meets on Friday, Oct. 16, 2015.
The Hoover school board this morning approved an amendment to a Medicaid reimbursement agreement that will allow the school system to recover more money from Medicaid for qualified medical services offered to children.
In the past, the Hoover school system has received $150,000 to $200,000 a year from Medicaid, but the new agreement will allow the system to receive a little more than $100,000 just for the first quarter of 2015 alone, school officials said.
Medicaid is reimbursing the system for services that would qualify for reimbursement if they were provided by private parties, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and hearing and vision screenings, Superintendent Kathy Murphy said.
The reimbursement agreement is handled through a consortium organized by the Alabama Association of School Boards.
Some Hoover school board members asked earlier this month if the school system would do better to work directly with Medicaid instead of through AASB, but Murphy said federal rules allow only one consortium for school systems per state.
Cathy Antee, the Hoover system’s chief financial officer, said the new amended agreement has reduced the amount of Hoover’s Medicaid reimbursement money that goes to the AASB and its financial agent as fees.
In other business this morning, the Hoover school board designated school board member Craig Kelley as the board’s delegate to the December AASB meeting and board member Stephen Presley as the alternate delegate.
The board concluded its meeting with a private executive session, which school board President Derrick Murphy said concerned legal matters.
