KAREN E. TIMBERLAKE
Secretary
Referred to committee on Health and Healthcare Reform.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
January 5, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Please find enclosed the Service Award Program 2008 Annual Report. The Service Award Board approved the report at its meeting on December 9, 2008. The report provides an overview of the program and outlines the accomplishments for the program year.
Wisconsin State Statute 16.25 (6) requires the Department to submit the report to the Chief Clerk of each house annually describing the activities of the board.
If you have any questions regarding the report, please contact Terri Lenz at the Department of Administration, Division of Enterprise Operations, at (608) 261-6580.
Sincerely,
JAMES M. LANGDON
Secretary, Service Award Board
Referred to committee on Urban and Local Affairs.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 11, 2008
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed an evaluation of the efforts of the Department of Health Services (DHS), formerly the Department of Health and Family Services, to ensure the integrity of Wisconsin's Medical Assistance program, including its certification of providers and audits of provider payments. In fiscal year (FY) 2006-07, expenditures for DHS's program integrity activities, excluding payments made to contractors that assist DHS in these activities, totaled $3.2 million.
Most providers must be certified by the State to receive Medical Assistance reimbursement for services rendered. We found that the initial certifications are generally processed on a timely basis. Some provider recertifications, which are generally required every three years, have not been completed
since at least 2002, in part because of delays DHS has encountered in implementing its new Medicaid Management Information System. Delays in recertification increase the risk that unallowable payments will be made because some providers no longer meet certification requirements.
From FY 2002-03 through FY 2006-07, DHS conducted 8,517 audits of Medical Assistance providers and recovered $31.8 million, which was used to offset state and federally funded Medical Assistance expenditures. We independently analyzed 9.4 million claims paid to four types of providers during one year - FY 2005-06 - and found an additional $268,000 in payments for provider claims that appear to be unallowable. We make several recommendations to improve the audit process, including seeking recovery of the payments we identified, imposing sanctions on providers found to repeatedly violate program rules, and charging interest to providers that fail to promptly return unallowable claims payments.
We also reviewed the role of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in prosecuting cases of Medical Assistance fraud. From FY 2002-03 through FY 2006-07, DOJ obtained 34 criminal convictions and negotiated 16 civil settlements between the State and Medical Assistance providers. During that period, courts ordered convicted providers to pay a total of $2.9 million, and the State received $11.7 million from civil settlements.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by DHS and DOJ staff. A response from DHS follows our report.
Respectfully submitted,
JANICE MUELLER
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 11, 2008
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a financial audit of the State of Wisconsin as of and for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008. The financial statements and related opinion are included in the State of Wisconsin's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, which is published by the Department of Administration.
During the course of our audit, we identified a variety of internal control concerns at various state agencies that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. As provided for in those standards, we are furnishing you with the Independent Auditor's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting and on Compliance and Other Matters. The state agencies' responses to our concerns and recommendations are included in the text of the report so that readers may see the State's intended resolution of the matters discussed. In future audits, we will determine the extent to which findings in the report have been resolved.
A19
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the Department of Administration and other state agencies during the audit.
Sincerely,
JANICE MUELLER
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 19, 2008
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a financial audit of the Wisconsin Public Broadcasting Foundation, Inc.'s Television Fund and Radio Fund, as requested by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board. The Foundation was organized by the Educational Communications Board under s.
39.12 and ch.
181, Wis. Stats., on September 29, 1983, for the exclusive purpose of raising funds for the Wisconsin educational television and radio networks.
We completed this audit in conjunction with our audits of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board television and radio networks, reports 08-16 and 08-17. The Foundation's financial operations are separate and independent from the State of Wisconsin. The Foundation's financial statements are presented in two separate funds (radio and television) to accommodate reporting requirements and the Educational Communications Board's desire to maintain the funds separately.
Our audit report contains the Foundation's financial statements and related notes as of and for the periods ending June 30, 2008, and June 30, 2007. We were able to issue an unqualified independent auditor's report on these statements.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by Educational Communications Board staff during the audit.
Respectfully submitted,
JANICE MUELLER
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 19, 2008
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a financial audit of the State of Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB) Television Network to meet our audit requirements under s.
13.94, Wis. Stats., and as requested by ECB to fulfill the audit requirements of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Corporation requires audited financial statements of public broadcasting entities to determine future funding levels.
ECB, which is an agency of the State of Wisconsin, operates a television network of 5 digital stations and 5 analog stations, as well as a radio network of 13 FM stations and 1 AM station. The ECB Television Network reported $10.3 million in support and revenue during fiscal year (FY) 2007-08, including state support, member contributions, funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and various other grants.
Our audit report contains the ECB Television Network's financial statements and related notes as of and for the periods ending June 30, 2008, and June 30, 2007. We were able to issue an unqualified independent auditor's report on these statements.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by ECB staff during the audit.
Respectfully submitted,
JANICE MUELLER
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 19, 2008
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a financial audit of the State of Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB) Radio Network to meet our audit requirements under s.
13.94, Wis. Stats., and as requested by ECB to fulfill the audit requirements of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Corporation requires audited financial statements of public broadcasting entities to determine future funding levels.
ECB, which is an agency of the State of Wisconsin, operates a radio network of 13 FM stations and 1 AM station, as well as a television network of 5 digital stations and 5 analog stations. The ECB Radio Network reported $9.2 million in support and revenue during fiscal year (FY) 2007-08, including state support, member contributions, funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and various other grants.
Our audit report contains the ECB Radio Network's financial statements and related notes as of and for the periods ending June 30, 2008, and June 30, 2007. We were able to issue an unqualified independent auditor's report on these statements.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by ECB staff during the audit.
Respectfully submitted,
JANICE MUELLER
State Auditor
