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School-Based Hearing and Vision Screening Requirements for Medicaid Billing
Under Arkansas Code Annotated §§ 6-18-701 and 6-18-1501, public schools are required to ensure students receive appropriate physical, hearing, and vision screenings to identify contagious or infectious diseases and any vision, hearing, or health conditions that may impede learning, with mandatory eye and vision screenings for students in Pre-K, kindergarten, grades 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8, as well as all transfer students. Hearing and vision screenings are considered part of the Medicaid Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) wellness benefit, and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) may seek Medicaid reimbursement by enrolling as a hearing and vision screening provider through the Arkansas Medicaid Program, submitting a completed provider application to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) School Health Services office for review and processing by MITS staff, with revalidation required every five years. To qualify as an EPSDT screening provider, the LEA must meet all Medicaid provider participation and enrollment requirements, execute an agreement to participate as a Child Health Services (CHS) screening provider, and employ a licensed registered nurse who has completed state-approved vision screening training and both RN and LPN hearing screening training, with current licensure and training documentation submitted as part of the application; all screenings must be conducted in accordance with Arkansas State Board of Nursing School Nurse Practice Guidelines. Prior to Medicaid billing, the LEA must also comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) by obtaining written parental or guardian consent to disclose personally identifiable student information to Medicaid and by annually notifying parents and eligible students of their rights under FERPA using a method determined by the school.
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