Documentation is Important

I have to admit that I was nervous about whether or not Fitness for Health would be approved in this new year's Plan of Care and Budget. I submitted about 10 pages of documentation to support the need for the services that Fitness for Health can provide. Well, it worked and the request was approved. Fitness Centers and personal trainers are on the list of items that will not be approved by medicaid, so documentation is critical to get an exception made in this case. I included a letter from V's occupational therapist that explained how the center could address V's O.T. needs, among the documents that I submitted.
Art supplies, which are used every day with V to manage anxiety and reduce agitation, were not approved this year. I did not submit supporting documentation, but my resource coordinator wondered if it would have made a difference if I had. She is checking and I will try again, with documentation and see if it helps. The art activities also work on some of V's O.T. goals, so there is an opportunity for supporting documentation from the O.T. as well as from the behavior analyst.
So, our lesson this year when it comes to developing a good plan of care is to include as much supporting documentation to support the need for the services that you are requesting as you can.