Finding Text
Grant Overpayments - Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Award Name: Flexible Needs Funding for Opioid Related and Stimulant Eligible Supports and Services; Program Year: Fiscal Year 2024; Assistance Listing Number: 93.788. Criteria: Management was responsible for reviewing and reconciling monthly reimbursement requests from the contractor to the invoices submitted for reimbursement under the grant agreement in a timely manner. Condition: The State of New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services appointed a contractor to administer, disburse and monitor Flexible Needs Funding (FNF) under this grant from December 20, 2023 through September 30, 2024, which changed how FNF reimbursement requests were processed. As part of this arrangement, the contractor compiled FNF information submitted via the System and submitted to the State for FNF reimbursement. It was determined that the System was reimbursed in error for duplicate invoices and formula errors within the reimbursement spreadsheets used by the contractor totaling $47,273. Of this overpayment, $45,925 was from a reimbursement received in December 2024 from the contractor's final invoice covering July 2024 through September 2024 FNF reimbursements, which included duplicate invoices already reimbursed. Cause: With this change in process, the System did not implement appropriate procedures to review and reconcile reimbursements received from the State to the underlying FNF requests the contractor submitted via invoice for reimbursement under the grant agreement in a timely manner. This was primarily due to system reporting limitations of the new platform implemented by the contractor in July 2024, which limited the ability to effectively reconcile with FNF requests submitted. Effect: As a result, the System received overpayments from the grant totaling $47,273. Recommendation: Management should notify and refund the grantor for the funds received in duplication. Management should also implement controls to ensure this error does not reoccur. View of Responsible Officials: Management acknowledges the finding and has ensured controls are now implemented to prevent this error from recurring. The agreement with the contractor was not renewed. The System met with the State to review the new process for submission and reimbursement of FNF and reviewed with the State the controls that are now in place to prevent this error from recurring. The System refunded the overpayment to the State totaling $47,273 on March 27, 2025.