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About the School-Based ACCESS Program
The School-Based ACCESS Program is an avenue for earning federal dollars that can be used by school districts, intermediate units, state-owned schools, approved private schools, or charter schools. These local education agencies (LEAs) can receive partial reimbursement for health-related services that are currently being provided to special education students as part of their Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

SBAP is a public/private partnership with the goal of acquiring partial Medicaid reimbursement for educational agencies. The ACCESS Program provides a streamlined ­process to gain MA reimbursements for the cost of providing related services to students.

SBAP is a cooperative effort between the PDE, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW), the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and PDE’s contractor Leader Services (Leader).

When SBAP began during the 1991-92 school year, approximately 6 LEAs were billing and receiving federal reimbursement for health-related services provided to their Medical Assistance eligible, special-education students. The number of participating LEAs has increased with each school year. During the 2005-06 school year, Medicaid reimbursement was received for over 530 LEAs, either through direct billing efforts or through IUs billing on behalf of school districts.