REPORT DIGEST

 

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHCARE AND FAMILY SERVICES

 

FINANCIAL AUDIT

AND

COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION

For the Year Ended:

June 30, 2007

 

Summary of Findings:

Total this audit                      15

Total last audit                      10

Repeated from last audit         5

 

 

 

Release Date:

June 18, 2008

 

 

State of Illinois

Office of the Auditor General

WILLIAM G. HOLLAND

AUDITOR GENERAL

 

 

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:

Office of the Auditor General

Iles Park Plaza

740 E. Ash Street

Springfield, IL 62703

(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

 

This Report Digest and Full Report are also available on the worldwide web at

http://www.auditor.illinois.gov

SYNOPSIS

 

¨      The Department did not provide the auditors with timely and accurate financial statements.  Financial reporting matters were first brought to the Department’s attention on June 19, 2007.  On May 27, 2008 the Department ultimately agreed with the accounting presentation recommended by the State Comptroller and the Office of the Auditor General. 

 

            The Department’s actions resulted in significant delays in the financial reporting process, were dilatory and were a disservice to the users of the State’s financial reports.

 

¨      The Department made inappropriate payments of Workers’ Compensation Act claims from its appropriation for health care coverage.  These payments totaled approximately $20 million.

 

¨      The Department did not pay the fiscal year 2007 hospital improvement access payments on a timely basis.  All fiscal year 2007 payments totaling $1.2 billion were paid on September 25, 2007.

 

¨      The Department did not require Cook County to comply with an Intergovernmental Agreement that was executed between the Department and the County.  Cook County owed the Department $10 million at June 30, 2007.

 

¨      The Department did not exercise adequate internal control over voucher processing.  A total of $1.6 million in 2008 medical services was paid from fiscal year 2007 appropriations.  Further, an estimated $17.6 million in interest is owed to medical providers at June 30, 2007.

 

¨      The Department did not pay interest on intercepted State income tax refunds.  The Key Information System is not capable of automatically calculating interest on intercepted State income tax refunds.

 

 

{Expenditures and Activity Measures are summarized on the reverse page.}


DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHCARE AND FAMILY SERVICES

FINANCIAL AUDIT AND COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION

For the Period Ended June 30, 2007

 

EXPENDITURE STATISTICS (in thousands)

FY 2007

FY 2006

·        Total Expenditures..........................................................

 

$15,537,213

$14,771,647

OPERATIONS TOTAL......................................................

% of Total Expenditures...............................................

$569,269

3.67%

$722,562

4.89%

Personal Services...............................................................

% of Operations Expenditures.......................................

Average No. of Employees (whole numbers).................

$116,151

20.40%

2,365

$105,774

14.64%

2,223

Other Payroll Costs (FICA, Retirement, Group Ins.)..........

% of Operations Expenditures.......................................

$36,620

6.43%

$31,369

4.34%

Contractual Services..........................................................

% of Operations Expenditures.......................................

$91,807

16.13%

$92,916

12.86%

All Other Operations Items................................................

% of Operations Expenditures.......................................

 

$324,691

57.04%

$492,503

68.16%

GROUP INSURANCE & HEALTHCARE COVERAGE...

% of Total Expenditures...............................................

 

$3,373,655

21.71%

$3,153,103

21.35

AWARDS AND GRANTS..................................................

% of Total Expenditures...............................................

 

$11,594,289

74.62%

$10,895,982

73.76%

·        Cost of Property and Equipment....................................

$34,503

$43,121

 

SELECTED ACTIVITY MEASURES

FY 2007

FY 2006

Adjudication Processing Time Elapsing

in Calendar Days - General Fund (unaudited)..........................

 

52.6 Days

 

51.2 Days

Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities (General Fund)

(in thousands).........................................................................

 

$3,167,990

 

$2,041,583

 

AGENCY DIRECTOR

     During Audit Period:  Mr. Barry S. Maram

     Currently:  Mr. Barry S. Maram

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial statements received nine months after fiscal year end

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$599 million correction made to the financial statements

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Department officials partially agreed with auditors

 

 

 

 

$2.4 billion in payments to be made

 

 

 

 

Supplemental appropriation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liability at June 30th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auditors’ comment

 

 Matters first brought to Department’s attention on June 19, 2007

 

 

Financial statements not submitted to auditors until March 4, 2008 and only in response from the Auditor General that all audit activity would be suspended

 

 

 

 

 

Department ultimately agrees on May 27, 2008 with accounting presentation recommended by State Comptroller and auditors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Department delays were dilatory and a disservice to users

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workers’ Compensation Act claims

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interagency agreement

 

 

 

CMS processed approximately $20 million in Workers Compensation claims from Department funds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Department disagreed with auditors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auditors’ comment

 

 

 

 

 

Circumvention of limitations established by law

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hospitals not paid timely

 

 

 

Department paid all FY07 payments totaling $1.2 billion on September 25, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Department agrees with reservation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auditors’ comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cook County owed the Department $10 million at June 30, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repayment delayed due to Cook County cash flow issues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$1.6 million in 2008 medical services paid from fiscal year 2007 appropriations

 

An estimated $17.6 million in interest owed to medical service providers at June 30, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inadequate controls for calculating interest due on intercepted State income tax  refunds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 

ACCURATE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOT PROVIDED TO AUDITORS IN A TIMELY MANNER

 

      The Department did not provide the auditors with timely and accurate financial statements.

 

      The Department did not provide complete Departmental financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2007 to the auditors until March 4, 2008.  In addition, the Department did not provide certain Hospital Provider Fund’s (Fund 346) accounting reports to the auditors for testing until March 18, 2008.  Departmental financial statements were received nine months after the year end and the Hospital Provider Fund’s GAAP Package was received nine and a half months after year end.

 

Additionally, the Statement of Activities provided to the auditors required a material correction to the governmental activities section of the financial statements.  Operating grants and contributions (program revenues) for the health and social services function was overstated and other taxes (general revenues) was understated by approximately $599 million. 

 

The Department’s management has the ultimate responsibility for the Department’s internal control system and the accuracy and completeness of the Department’s financial statements to ensure that the financial statements and GAAP Packages are timely and accurate.  (Finding 1, pages 12-15)

 

      We recommended the Department review its current process for the preparation and review of Departmental financial statements and allocate the resources necessary to ensure Departmental financial statements and Fund GAAP Packages are completed on a timely basis and are accurate.

 

Department officials partially concurred with our recommendation and stated that extenuating circumstances led to the Department requiring more time to provide financial statement information relative to the Hospital Provider Fund.  The Department was unable to fully execute requirements set forth in 305 ILCS 5/5A of the Public Aid Code, in regards to a payment schedule originally anticipated as $2.4 billion in payments be made to eligible hospitals in FY’07, to be used to improve access to services for Medicaid clients.  However, for FY’07 the Department originally only received $1.2 billion in appropriation authority from the General Assembly to the Hospital Provider Fund (HPF) for execution of the statutory requirement.  Supplemental appropriation language requesting an additional $1.2 billion was submitted, but was not passed by the legislature until June 13, 2007 and was subsequently passed into law August 13, 2007.  According to the Department, the payments were not rendered due to the minimal time available to utilize the supplemental appropriation and the lack of the required funding.  The payments were made in September 2007.

 

Department officials went on to say, as a result of the Department’s inability to execute the payments as stated in 305 ILCS 5/5A-12.1, significant research was conducted to ensure the transactions associated with the Hospital Assessment Tax (HAT) were properly accounted for in the Department’s financial statements.  At the forefront of the research were whether or not a liability existed as of June 30, 2007 and the fair presentation of the true financial position of the Department and State for FY’07.  Consideration was given to:  defining the nature of the Access Improvement Payments (AIP’s) and the resulting federal reimbursement and assessment tax revenues, the legal existence of a liability, the statutory interpretation, revenue recognition criteria, and the overall presentation of the financial statement to the reader.  The Department solicited in-house counsel, the Chief Internal Auditor, contracted external counsel, an international accounting firm, as well as the Governmental Accounting Standards Board to assist in assessing the proper reporting of the transactions associated with the HAT for the reporting period ending June 30, 2007.

 

The Department further responded that the principal reporting concern of the Department was the potential for misleading a reader of the financial statements by recording payments occurring in FY’08 as a liability in FY’07, without recording the corresponding revenue.  At the fund reporting level, since the revenue is received beyond 60 days of the year-end, the State’s revenue recognition criteria requires the revenue associated with the $1.2 billion to essentially not be recognized.  The process of the HAT is to pay AIP’s in the amount of $1.2 billion to eligible hospitals through the use of short-term borrowing (STB).  Once paid, HFS is able to claim the AIP’s to the federal government to generate $600 million in new federal revenue and the recipient hospitals are able to pay $734 million in assessment tax to the Department.  All transactions occur within approximately a one-month period, allowing the State to repay the STB and net $134 million in additional revenues.  Recording the liability in FY’07 in essence doubles the expenditures in FY’07 and the revenues in FY’08, without achieving the effect of offsetting each other, as was intended by the HAT program.  The overall impact is $1.34 billion in revenues over the $1.2 billion in expenditures, creating a net income of $134 million.  The entirety of the transaction is administered within the HPF.

 

The Department finally noted that following multiple conversations with the OAG, it was determined to work closely to further disclose the impact of the revenue associated with the HAT.  As a result, further language was added to both the Fund Deficit and Subsequent Event footnotes to explain the associated transactions and to ensure full disclosure within the financial statements.  The further explanation of the increased revenue to the State through expanded footnote disclosure enabled the Department to concur with recording the payment to the hospitals.  The Department will continue to work closely with the OAG to ensure all material transactions are properly and accurately disclosed and reported.

 

In an auditors’ comment, we noted that the Department refers to “extenuating circumstances” as justification for its untimely and inaccurate submission of Departmental financial statements.  While the issues surrounding the Hospital Provider Fund were complicated, these matters were first brought to the Department’s attention on June 19, 2007 and should have been and could have been dealt with by the Department in a timely manner.  Instead, financial statements due November 15, 2007, were not submitted by the Department to the auditors until March 4, 2008 – nearly four months late – and only then in response to notice from the Auditor General that all audit activity was suspended and would not be resumed until delinquent information was provided by the Department. 

 

Ultimately, the Department agreed with the financial statement presentation for the Hospital Provider Fund recommended by the Comptroller in a December 2007 positio