NATCHEZ &8212; Therapists from Key Rehab met with Medicaid officials in Jackson Monday to try to reverse a recent Medicaid directive that could affect 200 children receiving physical, occupational and speech therapy.

Health Systems of Mississippi, the company in charge of Medicaid claims, no longer approves the services of certified occupational therapist assistants or licensed physical therapy assistants, said Cathy Roboski, a licensed occupational therapist with Key Rehab in Natchez.

&8220;They will reimburse for treatment by only therapists with a minimum of bachelor degrees,&8221; she said.

Children will suffer if this policy is not changed, Roboski said. But Roboski said she was encouraged by the meeting with state officials.

&8220;We presented our concerns. It was a very positive meeting,&8221; she said. &8220;They promised to take our concerns to the powers that be and get back with us by Friday.&8221;

Roboski said she is pleased someone listened to the therapists&8217; concerns.

&8220;We&8217;re the only clinic offering services to these children,&8221; she said. &8220;We have children from as far away as Jonesville and Meadville coming to us.&8221;

Key Rehab will not have enough staff to attend to all the pediatric clients without the certified therapy assistants, Roboski said.

The assistants receive training in two-year programs approved by the state and are certified by the state. The assistants work under the supervision of a registered therapist with a bachelor&8217;s degree, such as Roboski.

The new ruling does not apply to a clinic owned by a hospital, Roboski said.

&8220;That&8217;s not fair. Some other free-standing clinics in other cities joined with us today.&8221;

Tommie Bradley, a single mother, has two children who receive therapy at Key Rehab under the Medicaid program &8212; a daughter, 6, who gets speech therapy, and a son, 3, who gets speech and occupational therapy.

&8220;I can work with them at home, but it&8217;s not the same,&8221; she said. &8220;My son has been going more than a year and my daughter, about two and a half years.&8221;

Without Medicaid, she would not be able to afford the therapy, Bradley said. And she knows the therapy has made a difference in her children&8217;s lives.

&8220;My son really needs it. About a month ago, they cut back my son from three to two sessions a week and then to once a week. The speech therapy is really, really needed,&8221; she said.