Finding Text
2022?001 Federal agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Other Programs Federal program title: Provider Relief Funding CFDA Number: 93.498 Pass-Through Agency: N/A Pass-Through Number(s): N/A Award Period: Period 1 Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance and Other Matters Compliance Requirement: Allowable Costs Criteria or specific requirement: Surrounding reporting activities, the Hospital?s internal controls should be designed to assure all reporting completed under program guidelines. Condition: During our testing, we identified the Hospital did not have internal controls and documentation procedures in place to ensure reporting was completed in accordance with HHS guidelines. Questioned costs: None Context: During our testing, it was identified that the Hospital reported approximately $1.2 Million in contracted emergency room physician costs, however at the time they did not specifically document how these costs were necessary to respond to Covid-19. Cause: The Hospital was amidst a pandemic and failed to document the rationale at the time of incurring the costs. Effect: The auditor noted no instances of noncompliance with the costs incurred; however, the internal controls around compliance over reporting were not effective. Repeat Finding: N/A Recommendation: We recommend the Hospital design controls to ensure documentation is completed timely and sufficiently on how costs are necessary to respond to Covid-19. Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Management identified that given the changing guidance (incremental vs. non-incremental) and being in the midst of pandemic created uncertainty in the documentation requirements around the use of the funds. In addition, management believes there is approximately $374,000 of lost revenues that were inadvertently not included in the report.