Report 2007-122 Recommendations

When an audit is completed and a report is issued, auditees must provide the State Auditor with information regarding their progress in implementing recommendations from our reports at three intervals from the release of the report: 60 days, six months, and one year. Additionally, Senate Bill 1452 (Chapter 452, Statutes of 2006), requires auditees who have not implemented recommendations after one year, to report to us and to the Legislature why they have not implemented them or to state when they intend to implement them. Below, is a listing of each recommendation the State Auditor made in the report referenced and a link to the most recent response from the auditee addressing their progress in implementing the recommendation and the State Auditor's assessment of auditee's response based on our review of the supporting documentation.

Recommendations in Report 2007-122: Department of Health Care Services: Although Notified of Changes in Billing Requirements, Providers of Durable Medical Equipment Frequently Overcharged Medi-Cal (Release Date: June 2008)

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Recommendations to Health Care Services, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
1

To maintain control over the cost of reimbursements, Health Care Services should develop an administratively feasible means of monitoring and enforcing current Medi-Cal billing and reimbursement procedures for medical equipment. If unsuccessful, Health Care Services should consider developing reimbursement caps for medical equipment that are more easily administered.

Fully Implemented
2

If Health Care Services continues using audits to ensure that providers comply with Medi-Cal billing procedures for medical equipment, including the upper billing limit, it should design and implement a cost-effective approach that adequately addresses the risk of overpayment and ensures that all providers are potentially subject to an audit, thereby providing a deterrent for noncompliance.

Fully Implemented
3

To better ensure its provider manual represents a comprehensive guide for medical equipment providers, Health Care Services should amend the manual to include the current methodology for calculating reimbursements for speech generating devices.

Fully Implemented


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