Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance, Material Noncompliance (Modified Opinion)
Condition: Kansas Department of Health and Environment (Department) was unable to provide supporting documentation that it had performed recertification surveys within the required timef...
Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance, Material Noncompliance (Modified Opinion)
Condition: Kansas Department of Health and Environment (Department) was unable to provide supporting documentation that it had performed recertification surveys within the required timeframe which is used to meet the provider health and safety standards.
Recommendation: We recommend the State focus on ensuring the Department’s procedures and internal controls are being followed and have proper supporting documentation, and to continue to focus on training all staff members to properly verify providers are meeting the prescribed health and safety standards before making payments to those providers.
Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.
KDHE/Bureau of Facilities and Licensing (BFL) recognizes the recertification survey deadlines was not met for twenty of the sixty non-deemed acute and continuing care providers and supplier types included in this audit consisting of Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals (CAH), Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASC), End Stage Renal Disease Facilities (ESRD), Rural Health Clinics (RHC), Hospice and or Home Health Agencies (HHA).
The KDHE/BFL would like to clarify that Section 1865(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (the Act) permits providers and suppliers "accredited" or "deemed" by an approved national accreditation organization (AO) to be exempt from routine surveys by State survey agencies to determine compliance with Medicare conditions. Accreditation by an AO is voluntary and is not required for Medicare certification or participation in the Medicare Program.)
KDHE/BFL does not disagree with the findings above but does want to identify some of the challenges the State Survey Agency (SSA) faces hindering continued progress with corrective action plans.
CMS’s annual appropriation to the SSA has continued to remain unchanged since FY 2015. This significantly limits the SSA’s capacity to conduct initial, complaint, recertification, and validation surveys. This limitation in funding, coupled with the continuing effects of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), accelerated the loss of SSA surveyor resources and resulted in an ongoing continued survey backlog. Even though this backlog has decreased from the previous year, it still exists. Also, as complaints about provider and supplier quality of care increases, non-statutory recertification surveys and less severe complaint allegations receive a lower priority. Complaint surveys, especially those alleging immediate jeopardy or actual harm to patient health and safety continue to be the primary oversight provided by the SSA, outside of statutory recertification surveys. These investigations of the most serious allegations also lead to more severe findings, higher numbers of revisits, and additional enforcement workload. Complaint surveys continue to be the primary oversight mechanism for most provider types.
CMS has established the following priorities for the SSA’s:
1. Investigation of patient complaints, as these are active quality concerns that must be reviewed to protect the health and safety of the public.
2. Survey and recertification of statutory facilities such as home health agencies (HHAs), and hospices as required by current law; and
3. Survey and recertification of non-statutory facilities, as required by CMS policy with consideration of available funding once priorities one and two have been accomplished.
Action taken in response to finding: At the beginning of each federal fiscal year including current FFY25, the BFL utilizes the CMS Mission and Priority Document (MPD) which directs and outlines the work of the SA based on regulatory changes, adjustments in budget allocations, and new initiatives, as well as new requirements based on statutes to prioritize and categorize survey plans.
During this current FFY we continue our efforts at restructuring the program manager responsibilities, filling health facility surveyor positions, adding quality assurance responsibilities, and effectively managing contracted services. Our goal is always to be able to consistently meet our MPD Tier 1 and Tier 2 priorities. Recruitment, training, fiscal management & strategies are always a priority and part of action plans to meet these goals. During this current audit process, we did identify opportunities for record management, education and training opportunities. Therefore, this year we will be implementing education and training to our non-surveyor licensure and certification staff ensuring they understand the CMS provider certification requirements and the certification process utilizing specific chapters of the State Operations Manual (SOM) as well as the iQIES & ASPEN database systems. We additionally will be seeking collaboration will the CMS Regional Office.
Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action:
Rebecca Gonzales, Medicaid Federal Audits Team Manager, KDHE
Breanna Lester, Medicaid Federal Audits Program Manager, KDHE
Jerry Smith, Bureau Director, Bureau of Facilities and Licensing, KDHE
Marilyn St Peter, RN, Deputy Director, Bureau of Facilities and Licensing, KDHE
Planned completion date for corrective action plan: June 30, 2025