Process & Manage Claims
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      1. Home Providers and Sponsors
      2. MMHX for Home Sponsors
      3. Process & Manage Claims

      Prepare to Process Claims

      Table of Contents

      In This Article

      Understand Types of Claim Paperwork

      Your providers send you their claim information each month. For those providers using KidKare, this information comes in via the Internet. For those providers who use scannable forms or your pre-existing forms, this information comes in the mail, and, in some cases, is dropped off at your office.

      KidKare Providers

      If your providers use KidKare, your providers usually send very little paperwork to you. Unless you use eForms, you do receive printed child enrollment and income eligibility forms. However, KidKare generates a report with each new child enrollment.

      Child Enrollment Reports

      Providers can send child enrollment reports any time during the month. So, you could receive signed child enrollment forms throughout the month. When you receive a signed enrollment form, the provider has enrolled a new child, which means you need to activate that child before they are creditable in Minute Menu HX. 

      We recommend that you do not deal with new enrollments until the second or third day of the month. At that time, run the Activate New Children function to activate these children.

      Tracking Received Claims

      You automatically receive KidKare provider's child and claim information in real time. 

      Other Paperwork for KidKare Providers

      Some states require that you have printed versions of the provider's claimed meals and attendance on file. If you operate in one of these states, we recommend that you require your providers to print the Claimed Foods and Attendance report when they submit their claims via KidKare. You then must file these reports once you receive them. Direct your providers to the Print the Claimed Foods and Attendance Report under Meals & Attendance report in their KidKare account.

      Scannable Form Providers

      Providers who use scannable forms submit all forms bundled together at the end of the month. They mail these packets in big enough envelopes (typically 9x12) so the forms are not folded. These packets include:

      • Signed Scannable Menu Forms

      • A Signed CIF

      • Signed Child Enrollment Forms

      Tracking Received Claims

      We recommend that you stamp the date received on the envelopes as you open them, or stamp the CIF and any Menu forms. You can also use the Track Received Claims function to note that the forms were received.

      Sorting Scannable Forms

      As you check each provider's claim, determine whether a provider is ready to be scanned or if their claim requires special attention. All provider packets that require special attention should be set aside in that entirety and dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Once the issue is corrected, you can insert those packets back into the batches for scanning and validating. As you stack provider forms, we recommend you sort them into form types:

      1. Full Bubble Menu Forms

      2. Attendance Menu forms

      3. Enrollment Forms (which may need to be separated if you have any very old version still in use)

      4. CIF’s

      Keep in mind that a provider's claim paperwork should be kept together in roughly the same order in each of the piles you create. A provider's menu forms do not need to be in any particular order, but it can help to keep them in chronological order with infant menus on top.

      You can also further separate these three stacks into multiple batches to make it easier to handle the large amount of paperwork involved. We recommend you limit your batch size to roughly 20 provider claim packets, or about 200 scannable menu forms in total. 

      If you use both Attendance and Bubble Menus, keep them in separate batches, as they cannot be scanned together. In addition, if you receive different versions of child enrollment forms, keep them in separate batches for the same reason.

      While you sort your scannable claims, you should perform several spot checks on them. For more information, see Scannable Claim Spot Checks.

      Manual Forms

      You probably already have a good method in place to deal with handwritten forms received from your providers. Once you start using Minute Menu HX, you can still deal with your handwritten forms in the same way, even as they are being phased out. If you don't scan, if you don't use KidKare, or if you continue to have a small number of handwritten forms on an ongoing basis, you can process these claims a Direct Entry claims. This allows you to provide all of Minute Menu HX's detailed analysis on these claims. However, you must manually add any new child enrollments to the Minute Menu HX database. When you receive manual forms, use the Track Received Claims function to note this paperwork was received. 

      To process this claim as a Direct Entry claim, you must:

      1. Review the submitted menus and note any meals that must be disallowed
      2. Use the Record Full Month Attendance function to enter attendance information.

      If you are handling these claims as 100% manual, the claim totals are added to Minute Menu HX after meals and attendance are manually counted.

       

      Track Received Claims

      You can track claims your providers have already submitted and mark them as received. Watch the video below to learn more, or click one of the following links to jump to a heading.

       

      Tracking Received Claims

      1. Click the Claims menu and select Track Received Claims. The Track Received Claims window opens.

      2. Set filters in the top of the window:

        • Filter By: Select All Providers or Selected Provider. If you select Selected Provider, click the Select drop-down menu and choose the provider to view. 

        • Claim Month: Click this drop-down menu and select the claim month to view.

        • Show Only Received But Not Processed: Check this box to show only those claims that were received but not yet processed.

        • Filter Providers by Status: If you selected All Providers in the Filter By section, click this drop-down menu and select the provider status to include in the list.

        • Filter Claims by Type: Select the claim type to view. You can choose from the following: All, Scannable Forms, KidKare, Online, and Manual.

      3. Click Refresh List. The providers meeting the limits you set display.

      4. To mark claims as received:

        • Online Claimers: If the listed provider claimed online via KidKare, the Received box is automatically checked, the date they submitted displays in the Date column, and the Received Via column shows Online.

        • Paper Claimers: If the listed provider claims via paper (scannable forms or manual entry), check the Received box. Today's date automatically populates the Date column. Double-click the Received Via column and select the claim source: Scannable Forms - Sponsor or Manual Entry - Sponsor.

      5. Click Save.

      6. Click Claims Not Received to print the Claims Not Received report. This report lists all providers who have not been marked as Received in the Track Received Claims window.

      7. Click Providers Not Claiming to print the Providers Not Claiming report. This report lists those providers who do not have a claim in the system yet. Note that a provider could be documented as having paperwork received, but you have not yet processed the claim. It is best to run this report after you've processed or manually entered claims.

      Checking a Claim’s Status

      You can also use this function to ensure that you haven't let any paperwork slip through without being processed. The Processed box is checked automatically once a claim has been created manually or by Minute Menu HX when processed. The date the claim is processed/created is noted in the Date Processed column.

      You can also filter the list so it includes only those claims that have been received, but have not yet been processed. to do so:

      1. Check the Show Only Received but Not Processed box.

      2. Click Refresh List.

       

      Change the Claim Month

      Minute Menu HX tracks a great amount of data that is specific to the claim month. For example, provider and child information can both change on a monthly basis, so it is important to keep this data updated in the correct claim month to retain accurate records. For agencies in California, the month in which a Modify provider appears on the California Change Request is controlled by the claim month.

      About the Claim Month

      Minute Menu HX always tracks your current claim month independently of your computer's date. The claim month displays in the title bar of the software. It should be the month immediately before the current calendar month (in most cases). It is the claim month on which you are working.

      The current claim month limits the months you are allowed to process or scan (if you use scannable forms). For example, when you scan menu forms, you are always prompted for the claim month of the batch you are scanning.

      Advancing the Claim Month

      To change your current claim month:

      1. Click the Claims menu and select Advance Claim Month. The Advance sponsor Claim Month dialog box opens.

      2. Check one or more of the following boxes:

        • Re-Compute & Update Remaining Training Period for All Providers: Check this box to update the remaining Training Period count for all of your providers. If you check this box, the system examines the following: providers whose Training Period Count is 1 or more, the provider Remaining Training Period Claims as of Date,  all claims received for that provider since and including the Remaining Training Period Claims as of Date. It then subtracts the claim count from the remaining training period count and updates the Remaining Claims As of Date to the month after the last claim received from that provider.

          Note: When you print the Provider Training Period report, the information is accurate for all of those providers who are still in training if you select this option. However, information for previous months will not be accurate for any month before the Remaining Claims As of Date.

        • Automatically Reset Provider/Child Tiers to Tier 2 if Tiering Expired: Check this box to reset provider/child tiers to Tier 2 if their Tier 1 expiration dates have passed. All three tiering factors must be expired, with ends dates that come before the month to which you are advancing. If you choose to select this option, make absolutely sure that your eligibility dates are all accurate. We strongly recommend that you print Tiering reports for your providers and children before advancing the claim month and after advancing the claim month. This way, you can check the changes that were made.

        • Withdraw All Children Whose Enrollments Expires in the Selected Month or Earlier: This option is only visible if you have chosen to store enrollment expiration dates for all your children as part of the annual child re-enrollment process. Check this box to automatically withdraw children whose enrollment expired before the month to which you are advancing or is expiring as of the month to which you are advancing. Select the appropriate option.

          Note: It is generally safer to withdraw expired children for the month from which you are advancing, in case you receive late re-enrollments. However, these expired children may still be printed on CIFs that are going out for the month. If you withdraw children for the month to which you are advancing, no expired enrollments print on the CIF for the upcoming month. The children will be assigned withdrawal dates equal to their enrollment expiration dates.

        • Withdraw Children Over 13 Years Old: Minute Menu HX automatically disallows children who are too old to be claimed, but those children remain active in the system until you or the provider withdraw them. Check this box to automatically withdraw children who are over the age of 13 as of the end of the current claim month. This does not apply to children designated as Special Needs or Migrant Worker Child.

      3. Click Advance.

      If you are just starting with Minute Menu HX, the current claim month in the software may be several months behind the actual claim month. You may need to advance the claim month several times until you bring the software's current claim month in-line with the actual claim month.

       

      Setting the Claim Month Backwards

      You may sometimes need to move the current claim month backwards instead of forward. You can do so in the Sponsor Information window. Use this function if you need to move the claim month back for any reason. For example, you may do this temporarily to edit a specific claim, or you could do it if the claim month was advanced in error.

      1. Click the Administration menu and select Sponsor Information. The Sponsor Information window opens.

      2. Click the Current Claim Month drop-down menu and select the claim month to which to move. This changes the claim month without performing any of the data-related checks.

      3. Click Save.

       

      Claim Information Form

      When you print Claim Information Forms (CIFs) or any other report containing a list of a provider's children, you are prompted for an effective claim month for the report. The effective claim month is used to determine which children are included in the report. The system examines enrollment dates and, if present, the withdrawal dates for each child for the given provider. It then includes all children who were enrolled for at least one day in the effective claim month on the report. So, when you print these reports, you may see children whose status is currently Withdrawn, because they were still active at least at some point in time during the month you selected when generating the report.

      Print the CIF From List Children

      1. Click the Providers menu and select List Children. The List Children window opens.

      2. Click the Provider drop-down menu and select the provider.

      3. Click Print CIF (bottom). The PDF report is generated for the current claim month.

       

      Print the CIF From the Reports Menu

      1. Click the Reports menu, select Claim Forms, and click Claim Information Form (CIF). The Select Provider dialog box opens.

      2. In the Filter By section, click Selected Provider or Multiple Providers. If you selected Multiple Providers, go to Step 4.

      3. If you chose the Selected Provider option, click the Provider drop-down menu and select the provider.

      4. Click Continue. If you selected one provider, go to Step 7. If you selected the Multiple Providers option, the Provider filter window opens.

      5. Set filters for the providers to include in the export.

        • Check the box next to each filter to use, then select the appropriate value. For example, check the Child Enrollment Renewal Received box to filter by child enrollment renewals. Go to Step 6.

        • Check the Choose Providers From List box and click  to select providers from a list. Then, in the Choose Provider List, check the box next to each provider to include.

      6. Click Continue. The Select Month dialog box opens.

      7. Click the Select Month drop-down menu and select the effective claim month for the report.

      8. Click Continue. If you are set up to use child groups, the Select Child Groups to Exclude dialog box opens.

      9. Click the child group(s) to exclude from the report. To include all child groups, select None. 

      10. Click Continue. If you are printing this report for a single provider, the PDF is generated and this process is complete. If you are printing this report for multiple providers, the Provider Nested Sort Order dialog box opens.

      11. Click the Filter First By and the Then By drop-down menus and select the sorts to use. Then, click Continue. The PDF is generated.

      Print the CIF While Processing Claims

      When processing claims, check the Print CIF box and specify the effective month for the CIFs you are printing. A CIF prints for each processed claims.

      Print the CIF After Processing Claims

      1. Click the Claims menu and select Print Provider Claim Reports. The Print Provider Claim Reports window opens.

      2. Check the Print CIF For box.

      3. Select the claim month for which to print the CIF.

      4. Set additional filters, as needed.

      5. Click Print.

      When printing CIFs, each child group in which a provider has a child enrolled prints on a separate page. This means that even if a provider only cares for three (3) children and those children are enrolled in Group 1, 2, and 3, respectively, the CIF for that provider prints each child on a separate page. We recommend that you train your providers on how to effectively enroll children.