Finding Text
Finding No. 2022-001 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Program Name: HRSA COVID-19 Claims Reimbursement for the Uninsured Program and the COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund Assistance Listing Number: 93.461 Federal Award Year: July 1, 2021 ? June 30, 2022 Compliance Requirements: Other ? Inaccurate reporting of the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards Criteria According to 2 CFR 200.510(b), a recipient of federal awards is required to prepare a Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) for the period covered by the entity?s financial statements which must include the total Federal awards expended as determined in accordance with 2 CFR 200.502. Additionally, 2 CFR 200.303 requires non-Federal entities receiving Federal awards to establish and maintain internal controls designed to reasonably ensure compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and program compliance requirements. Effective internal controls should include procedures to ensure federal expenditures are accurately reported on the SEFA and information provided for audit purposes is complete and accurate. Conditions Found Lehigh Valley Health Network and Subsidiaries (the ?Organization?) did not have adequate controls relating to the reporting of expenditures for the HRSA COVID-19 Claims Reimbursement for the Uninsured Program and the COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund (the ?Uninsured Program?) in the SEFA. Specifically, the amounts originally provided on the SEFA for the year ended June 30, 2022 for the Uninsured Program were based on when claim payments were received rather than when the services were provided for claim reimbursement. Once the error was identified, management corrected the SEFA for the year ended June 30, 2022 to reflect the total amount of claims for services provided during the year ended June 30, 2022 for the Uninsured Program. Cause and Effect In discussing these conditions with management, they stated that sufficient controls were not in place to ensure that the date of the patient service or treatment was used to determine the appropriate amounts and year to include the payment received from HRSA on the SEFA. Failure to establish effective internal controls regarding financial reporting for the preparation of the SEFA may prevent the Organization from completing an audit in accordance with 2 CFR Part 200. Questioned Costs There are no questioned costs related to this finding. Statistical Sample Not applicable. Repeat Finding A similar finding was not reported in the prior year audit. Recommendation We recommend the Organization establish internal controls to ensure the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program is accurately reported on the SEFA and information provided for audit purposes is complete and accurate. View of Responsible Officials Since the inception of the program, the Organization reported the HRSA COVID-19 for the Uninsured based on payment date rather than on date of service/ incurred date. Once the error was identified, management properly reported and corrected the SEFA for the year ended June 30, 2022 to reflect the total amount of claims for services provided during the year ended June 30, 2022 for the Uninsured Program.