Finding Text
Identification: 93.498 United States Department of Health and Human Services, Provider Relief Fund and American Rescue Plan Rural Distribution; Significant Deficiency; Reporting Compliance Requirement
Criteria: Provider Relief Fund and American Rescue Plan Rural Distribution was established under the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Pub. L. No. 116‐136, 134 Stat. 563) and the Coronavirus Relief and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (Pub. L. No. 116‐260) and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 117-2). Eligible healthcare providers received PRF appropriations for healthcare related expenses or lost revenues attributable to coronavirus. Recipients who received one or more payments exceeding $10,000 are required to report in each applicable reporting period.
Condition: For contract labor costs claimed using PRF funds, the Medical Center performed a computation of the incremental cost of contract labor as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant component to this computation was contract labor hours. During the audit, we noted errors in the reported number of contract labor hours which included mistakes in keying the correct number of hours and/or the omission of hours. We also noted that there was not an independent review of the computation and the information reported in the PRF reporting portal.
Cause: The Medical Center utilized spreadsheets that were prepared to track COVID-19 expenditures which included the reported number of contract labor hours utilized. Controls were not in place to review the information accumulated on the spreadsheets or review the information submitted in the PRF reporting portal.
Effect: There is an increased risk of error in completing the reporting submission by not having an independent review completed. As a result, the Medical Center underreported expenditures in the PRF reporting portal by misstating the number of contract labor hours.
Questioned Costs: None
Perspective Information: We examined invoice detail for 23,820 hours out of a total of 93,907 contract labor hours used in the computation of incremental contract labor costs. Of the hours tested, we noted a net difference of 303 reported contract labor hours which likely caused the Medical Center to underreport its calculated increase in contract labor costs in the PRF reporting portal.
Repeat Finding: N/A
Recommendations: We recommend the Medical Center implement procedures to review reported contract labor hours to ensure accurate reporting and that any future PRF report filings contain an independent review of the submission.
Views of Responsible Officials: The Medical Center acknowledges that there were some minor errors in the reporting of the number of contract labor hours used in the computation of the incremental cost of contract labor due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite these errors, costs were not improperly claimed under a federal grant award. For future report filings, we will implement a subsequent review of the PRF submission before the filing is completed.