Finding 306 (2022-008)

US Department of Health and Human Services Passed through the NC Department of Health and Human Services Program Name: Medical Assistance Program CFDA #: 93.778 Finding: 2022-008 SSI Terminations SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY Eligibility Criteria: In accordance with the Medicaid Manual MA-3120, the State sends notification to the County when a participant is no longer eligible under Supplemental Security Income (SSI) determination, the County is required to initiate the ex parte review within 5 workdays of the date the termination appears on the SSI Termination Report, and complete the redetermination within 4 months of the month the case appears on the SSI Termination Report and notify the recipient about applicant's ongoing eligibility for Medicaid. Condition: There was 1 error in which a beneficiary was not reviewed timely and determined to be eligible for Medicaid when their SSI benefits were terminated. Questioned Costs: There was no known affect to eligibility and there were no known questioned costs. Context: We examined 60 cases from of a total of 43,722 Medicaid claims from the Medicaid beneficiary report provided by NC Department of Health and Human Services to re-determine eligibility. These findings are being reported with the financial statement audit as it relates to Medicaid administrative cost compliance audit. Identification of a Effect: The County did not initiate an ex-parte review timely, therefore, no eligibility review was completed in the required time period. The lack of follow up and certification lead to applicants receiving Medicaid benefits for which they were not eligible. Identification of a repeat finding: This is a repeat finding from the immediate previous audit, 2021-008. Cause: Ineffective communication between departments within the Department of Social Services. One area within DSS received State communications that applicants would no longer be eligible for SSI benefits and the County needed to conduct an application process. This information was not shared with other departments in DSS from which the recipient was also receiving benefits. Recommendation: Any State communications related to applicants’ benefits received by any DSS department should be shared with all areas from which the participant receives benefits. State files should be reviewed internally to ensure all actions have been properly closed and the corrective action has been taken. Workers should be retrained on what process needs to be followed when State communications are received. Views of responsible officials: The county agrees with the finding. Please refer to the corrective action plan for details.