Complex and Costly
When it comes to receiving behavioral health services through Medicaid, kids in foster care are seven times more expensive than their general population peers.
This report, written as a practical guide for child welfare directors, outlines ways to partner with Medicaid to sustain or enhance high-quality services for children with behavioral health care needs.
This paper shares a simple four-rule check to help determine if a child in foster care can access Medicaid services. The child must be: 1) enrolled in Medicaid; 2) meeting the medical necessity criteria for the service in question; 3) accessing a service that is covered and reimbursable by Medicaid and included in the state’s Medicaid State Plan; and 4) using a provider who is credentialed, licensed, actively participating in Medicaid, and able to deliver care in accordance with the Medicaid State Plan.
