Medi-Cal Billing Process Irks Lodi Teachers
The Lodi Unified School District health services department has begun requiring teachers to fill out paperwork to bill Medi-Cal for applicable medical care services provided to students, the Stockton Record reports. Medi-Cal is the state's Medicaid program.
Medi-Cal covers many medical services in schools, such as identifying a student as needing eyeglasses or having hearing problems, according to the Record.
Ivie Gonzalves, district health services administrator, said Medi-Cal billing is a potential revenue source for the district. Schools receive 40% of reimbursements from the billing process, according to Gonzalves.
Gonzalves said teachers "identify students who need medical attention already," adding, "It's just a matter of them logging activities they do anyway."
Teachers oppose the additional paperwork because they say it distracts them from instruction (Reid, Stockton Record, 3/12).