Prepared Remarks of Elizabeth M. Duke, Ph.D.
Acting Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration
“Reimbursement in School-Based Health Centers: A Dialogue with National
and State Partners”
Rockville, Md.
April 23, 2001
Good morning. On behalf of the Health Resources and Services
Administration, I take great pleasure in welcoming all of you here
today.
First, let me recognize our co-sponsor -- the Health Care Financing
Administration’s Center for Medicaid and State Operations. I
also want to commend the staff of the National Assembly on School-based
Health Care and its Executive Director, John Schlitz, for their help
in planning this event.
HRSA’s interest in school-based health centers is a natural one.
Whether it is the Bureau of Primary Health Care’s Healthy Schools/Healthy
Communities program, which directly funds 76 school- based health
centers, or the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s efforts though
Title V, assuring access to quality health care for all children is
a critical part of our overall mission. Medicaid through HCFA,
State Medicaid Agencies, and managed care organizations that participate
in Medicaid programs also play critical roles in the access equation.
Yet, with all that we do, many challenges still exist as we work
to make the system of care for our Nation’s families as seamless as
possible. This is our collective task here today -- to take
a close look at how school- based health centers can participate most
effectively in Medicaid Managed Care. Hopefully, through
your collaborative efforts, we can identify more creative and innovative
approaches to solving the problems we face.
I couldn’t think of a better group of professionals to work on this
project. Gathered here are participants from State Medicaid
Agencies, State Title V programs, managed care organizations which
have partnered with school-based health centers, and representatives
from school-based health centers. We also have a wide range
of federal agency staff and interested national organization representatives
who are here to learn from you and to share with you their work on
these same issues.
I look forward to this dialogue over the next seven hours.
These sessions have tremendous importance for all of us who provide
health care services to America’s children and youth. As you
participate in these discussions, let us know what is important to
you ... what works and what doesn’t...and what barriers need to be
overcome.
Working together, we can bridge the gaps and make our programs and
services work better where it matters most -- at the state and local
level where people and programs intersect and where lives can be changed
for the better.
At HRSA, our pledge to you is this: when you talk, we will listen
and respond.
Now, it’s time for you to talk. We are all listening.
