There is a version of product development where a software company decides what to build, builds it, and then explains to customers why it’s what they needed. We are not interested in that version.
The schools using GoClaim™ are managing Medicaid billing under staffing pressure, regulatory changes that arrive with little warning, and workflows spread across more systems than any one coordinator should have to manage. The people in those roles know exactly where the friction is. They know which clicks waste time, which denial codes make no sense, and which consent conversations are harder than they should be.
So instead of guessing, we asked. We hosted our first in-person roundtable in Indiana, and what came out of that room is now shaping what we build next.
Why We Hosted a Roundtable in the First Place
Special education and school Medicaid workflows are not simple. The federal framework under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act sets the compliance floor, but every state builds on top of it differently — and every district implements it under its own constraints: staffing levels, SIS systems, service delivery models, and administrative capacity that varies dramatically from one building to the next.
Generic feedback forms don’t capture that complexity. Survey responses don’t either. What does capture it is sitting in a room with the coordinators, therapists, and directors who are doing the work and asking them directly: what is hardest right now? That’s what the Indiana roundtable was.
What We Heard Directly From the Room
The Indiana roundtable brought together districts from across the GoClaim community. The conversation was candid, and it surfaced patterns that go well beyond any single district.
Fragmented systems are burning time that belongs with students.
Providers are toggling between Go Solutions, PowerSchool, SLP Toolkit, ABA Desk, and other tools — copying and pasting session notes, duplicating progress monitoring data, and re-entering student information by hand. Every manual handoff is a delay and a risk.
Billing falls behind when documentation falls behind.
Therapists covering multiple schools are stretched. When providers can’t stay current with notes, billing backlogs build fast, and the current workflow makes it easier to fall further behind than to catch up.
Medicaid consent is confusing for families and staff.
Current consent documents use legal language that families struggle to understand. Concerns about immigration status, Medicaid waivers, and whether school billing affects a child’s state services are real and common — and staff need better tools to navigate those conversations.
Denial codes aren’t actionable.
When a claim is denied, the reason isn’t always clear enough to correct and resubmit quickly. That gap costs districts reimbursement they’ve already earned.
Regulatory changes land without enough lead time.
Recent Indiana rule changes — updated medical diagnoses, Medicaid revalidation processes, eligibility shifts — arrived with minimal guidance, and what guidance exists is written for clinical settings, not schools.
Compliance anxiety is driving provider turnover.
Staff are leaving partly because of fear: fear of billing errors, license risk, and the weight of documentation requirements they don’t feel equipped to manage.
💡 Takeaway for school districts:
Because of That Conversation
What follows is not a feature roadmap. It is a list of decisions that were made because of what districts told us in that room. The distinction matters.
Simpler Documentation, From the Session Up
Two of the highest-friction points in the current workflow happen at the beginning and end of a provider’s day: getting consent and recording notes. We’re addressing both directly.
- Simplified consent and billing documents in plain language, low-literacy formats, and multilingual materials — Spanish, Burmese, and other languages spoken in Indiana communities — so families and staff can actually use them
- Voice recognition and dictation for provider notes, role-based and targeted at speech pathologists and therapists first, so documentation can happen during or right after a session without extra steps
- Push notification reminders, customizable by district schedule, so providers are prompted about overdue notes and referrals before backlogs build
- Automated referral workflows so referrals can be signed electronically and the system updates automatically — reducing the missed handoffs that delay billing
💡 Takeaway for school districts:
Smarter Dashboards That Answer Real Questions
The dashboard improvements coming out of this roundtable are specific, not cosmetic:
- Pending referral tracking
- Provider billing percentages by caseload
- Denial code explanations built directly into the interface. Instead of a code to look up, it will be a plain-language explanation of what went wrong and how to fix it
These dashboard improvements are designed to give districts that visibility without requiring manual data pulls.
A Billing Process Built for the Teams Actually Doing It
Not every district has a dedicated Medicaid coordinator. Many are managing this with a small team or with one person wearing multiple hats. We’re building a Medicaid billing checklist and process guide that is step-by-step, school-specific, and designed for districts handling this independently for the first time.
The Next Roundtable Is Forming Now
The Indiana conversation was a beginning, not a one-time event. Monthly virtual provider support labs are being scheduled — dedicated time with our customer success team for documentation questions, billing help, and anything that’s backing up. Our next User Academy is planned for January, and the sessions on that agenda will be shaped directly by what districts tell us they need.
If your district is navigating the same pressures the Indiana group described — fragmented workflows, billing backlogs, provider turnover, consent conversations that aren’t landing — your voice belongs in this conversation.
The districts already in the room are influencing what gets built next. The next roundtable is forming. There’s still time to be part of it.
Ready to join the conversation? Sign up for the next roundtable to meet in-person near you!
💡 Takeaway for school districts:
💡 Recommended reading: 8 Best Practices That Can Increase Your Medicaid Funding
Featured Product
Looking for a smarter way to handle school-based Medicaid billing?
GoClaim provides trusted tools and expert support tailored specifically for your school district — so you can simplify compliance, maximize reimbursements, and focus on student services.
Latest Posts
A District’s Guide to Ohio’s New MSP Rules: What Changed, What’s Coming, and What to Do Now
Read More »
