Transportation of Deceased Clients
Funeral home providers are not required to be actively enrolled in Texas Medicaid or the CSHCN Services Program.
39.2Benefits, Limitations, and Authorization Requirements
The CSHCN Services Program provides coverage for the costs of transporting a deceased client who expires in a CSHCN Services Program-approved facility (including non-billing facilities such as MD Anderson, Shriner’s Hospital, Scottish Rite) while receiving CSHCN Services Program health-care benefits, if client is not in the family’s city of residence.
The program may also pay the transportation cost of a parent or other person accompanying the remains from the facility to the place of burial in Texas that is designated by the parent or other person legally responsible for interment.
If the program prior authorized a treatment out-of-state and the client expires, the program may pay the costs of transporting the client’s remains, and the transportation cost of a parent or other person accompanying the remains from the facility to the place of burial in Texas that is designated by the parent or other person legally responsible for interment.
The CSHCN Services Program considers the following services for reimbursement:
•First Call Charge. This includes the removal of the body by the funeral home from the facility in which the client expired.
•Air Transportation. Transportation costs of moving the deceased from the funeral home to the airport, cost of an air tray provided by the funeral home, and cost of airline transportation for the body and an accompanying parent or other responsible person may all be paid.
•Land Transportation. If the body is transported over land, one-way mileage is paid based on the State Mileage Guide. Funeral homes or mortuary services use standard air-conditioned vehicles to transport bodies. It is common for the body to be transported on a cot; however, the CSHCN Services Program may pay for a container or coffin (not a casket) if one is used. It is legal in Texas for the family to transport the body themselves. If the family chooses to do this, the CSHCN Services Program may reimburse the family or a third party on the family’s behalf at the standard CSHCN Services Program mileage rate for a one-way trip.
•Rail Transportation. If the body is transported by rail, the CSHCN Services Program may pay the cost of transportation of moving the deceased from the funeral home to the station and the cost of a container provided by the funeral home. The cost of rail transportation for the body and an accompanying parent or other responsible person may also be paid.
•Bus Transportation. It is not common practice for bodies to be transported by bus.
•Embalming. State law requires that a body be refrigerated between 34º to 40ºF, or the body must be embalmed within 24 hours after death. Airlines and rail systems require embalming. Depending on the distance, a body may be transported over land without being embalmed.
Note:The CSHCN Services Program does not pay for cremation or transporting the ashes of a deceased client.
39.2.1Authorization Requirements
Authorization is not required for the transportation of deceased clients.
Claims for the transportation of a deceased client must be submitted to TMHP on the approved CSHCN Services Program Reimbursement Request for Transportation of the Remains of Deceased Clients form.
Costs associated with the transportation of the remains of a deceased client are reimbursed the lower of the amount billed or the amount listed:
Service | Reimbursement |
|---|---|
First call | $150 |
Embalming | $100 |
Container | $150 |
Mileage billed by funeral home | $1.00 per mile |
Air Freight | Billed amount |
39.5TMHP-CSHCN Services Program Contact Center
The TMHP-CSHCN Services Program Contact Center at 1-800-568-2413 is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Central Time, and is the main point of contact for the CSHCN Services Program provider community.