Medicaid Messenger
Transportation Edition
Welcome Back!
As we kick off the 2023-24 school year, the Medicaid Team is excited to share the updated Medicaid Messenger newsletter. The new format will enable us to tailor messages to each service provider group as well as provide ease of access to Medicaid policies, procedures, and the new county-wide forms. Plus, you can easily navigate through Medicaid Messenger by simply clicking on a title in the Table of Contents in the upper left corner of your screen.
As always, feel free to contact us with any questions.
We're here to help!
Michelle Maxfield - (734) 334-1461 ~maxfiem@resa.net
Leanne Smith - (734) 334-1464 ~smithle@resa.net
Tia Williams - (734) 334-1397 ~williat@resa.net
Important Reminders
Please make sure all of the 2022-2023 transportation services, including any summer transportation, are recorded and marked "Ready to Bill" by Friday, September 29, 2023.
- Student attendance should be recorded on a monthly or at a minimum; bi-monthly basis.
- Monthly transportation logs MUST be signed and dated by either the bus driver or aide working on the bus in order to meet Medicaid compliance.
- Check with your Special Education Office to make sure the students you are recording service for have YES marked under the need for Specialized Transportation section of their IEP.
Specialized Taxi/Family Vehicle Transportation
Your district may receive partial reimbursement for those students who need to be transported by taxi or family vehicle. For a taxi or family vehicle transportation expense to be reimbursed, the following documentation must be on file at the LEA or ISD:
- Specialized transportation MUST be included in the IEP.
- Documentation from the student's physician or school provider treating the student, stating the reason taxi or family transportation is required (Specialized Taxi/Family Vehicle Transportation Form) MUST be filled out and retained in the student's file for at least 7 years in case of a State or Federal audit.
- For ongoing transportation, documentation is required once per student per school year.
- For one-time or occasional use transportation, documentation is required for each trip, or trip period.
- Either the Special Education or Business Office can complete the Specialized Taxi/Family Vehicle Form.
*Click on the link below to get a copy of the Specialized Taxi/Family Vehicle form from our webpage
Tips for Adding Students to a Route
Sometimes adding students to a route can be frustrating, here are some tips to make the process easier:
- Search for a student using the district track for their Attending School. For example, when searching for a student in Allen Park, use Allen Park Public Schools as the Attending School to search the entire district instead of a specific school.
- If a student has a recent name change - please contact our office, the transportation database does not recognize changes in names and we will have to change it "behind the scenes."
- If you can find the student when you search for them, but the system will not let you select them, it usually means they are already on another route. Take a look at the routes you've already created to find the students and exit them from that route.
- If you need to move a student from one route to another, make sure to exit them from the current route before adding them to the new route.
Transportation Logs
Before the first transportation day of the month, make sure the drivers/bus aides have a copy of the paper Transportation/Driver logs for Medicaid billing and tracking purposes. To generate logs, take the following steps:
- Select the bus route from your list of routes.
- Click on the Transport Log button at the top of the screen.
- Select ALL routes OR select a specific route in the Bus/Route dropdown.
- Select the month/year for which the routes(s) will be generated.
- Print Student Date of Birth - do not select.
- Print Blank Student Rows - You can add blank lines to write in a student if need be.
- Print Return Statement - This is a requirement.
- Print Signature Line - This is a requirement.
- Click the Generate button.
- The log opens in a new window, click on the print icon to complete the process.
*Monthly Transportation Logs should be kept on file for at least 7 years for audit purposes*