Medicaid Provider General Notice

Effective September 1, 2013, youth who reside in a Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) commitment program are not eligible for Medicaid services for the duration of his or her stay in the DJJ residential program.  Therefore, no provider of Medicaid services may bill Medicaid for services or goods provided to a youth who is in a residential commitment program except for emergency medical treatment for non-citizen youth.

How Medicaid Works with Youth in DJJ Commitment

Effective July 1, 2014, DJJ and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) began a daily data file exchange that matches DJJ residential youth against the AHCA computer system for Medicaid beneficiaries.  This data exchange automates the suspension of a youth's Medicaid (if the youth was on a family Medicaid case or in Foster Care) and it automates the re-activation of a youth's suspended Medicaid.  When a youth enters a DJJ residential program, the data-matching system suspends that youth's Medicaid (if applicable).  When a youth is discharged from a DJJ residential program, the data-matching system re-opens that youth's Medicaid (if the youth previously had Medicaid prior to his or her commitment).

Reinstating a Youth's Medicaid Upon Discharge

Reinstating a youth's Medicaid coverage upon discharge is designed to be an automated feature of the data exchange process with AHCA.  However, the youth's juvenile probation officer (JPO) must work with the transition team and the youth's family to ensure that the family has all paperwork in order with the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) in order to maintain the youth's Medicaid eligibility.  This is easily done with the JPO, sitting down with the youth's parent or guardian at the JPO's DJJ computer and checking the family's "My ACCESS Account."  See below for the link to the Internet site, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For Further Assistance Contact

Florida Department of Juvenile Justice

Lytha Belrose, Office of Residential Services, Lytha.Belrose@djj.state.fl.us, (850) 717-2538.

Florida Agency for Health Care Administration

For more information, please contact the local Agency for Health Care Administration area office for your geographic location by referring to the AHCA web site:  http://portal.flmmis.com/flpublic/Provider_AreaOffices/tabid/37/Default.aspx

Florida Department of Children and Families 

For more information about family assistance programs, such as Medicaid, please contact the local Department of Children and Families (DCF) office by referring to the DCF web site: http://www.myflfamilies.com/local-resources

To check the status of a family's public assistance, go to the DCF web site and click on the link for "24 Hour Online ACCESS to Benefit Information (My ACCESS Account)" at http://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/access-florida-food-medical-assistance-cash