| School Medicaid funds face uncertain future |
School advocacy groups, including the Association of School Business Officials International, are warning congressional leaders that cuts to Medicaid would jeopardize school-based healthcare for students who have disabilities and who come from low-income families. In a letter last week to House and Senate leaders, 65 organizations expressed concern about funding cuts to school-based Medicaid services that include health and mental health services provided by professionals like speech-language pathologists and school psychologists. On Tuesday, as the House passed a budget blueprint that directs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid and Medicare, to find $880bn in spending cuts, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) claimed there is significant fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicaid system, making it “hugely problematic.” However, the advocacy groups argue, “School-based Medicaid programs serve as a lifeline to children who can’t access critical health care and health services outside of their school." In Washington state, of the more than 13,000 young children enrolled in Head Start early learning programs, 12,868 receive Medicaid services, said Joel Ryan, executive director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program. He added that any cuts will have "a real impact on some of the youngest, most vulnerable kids across our country.”
