Sincerely,
Tony Evers, PhD
State Superintendent
Referred to committee on Education.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 16, 2010
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
We have completed our fiscal year (FY) 2009-10 financial audit of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, as requested by the Investment Board and to fulfill our audit requirements under s.
13.94 (1)(df), Wis. Stats. The Investment Board's financial statements report the investments and investment activity for the Wisconsin Retirement System funds, the State Investment Fund, and five other smaller insurance and trust funds. The statements and our unqualified opinions on them are included in the Investment Board's FY 2009-10 Annual Report, which can be found on the Investment Board's Web site.
The retirement funds, which include the Core Retirement Investment Trust Fund and the Variable Retirement Investment Trust Fund, experienced positive investment returns in FY 2009-10. The Core Fund reported net investment income of $7.7 billion, and the Variable Fund reported net investment income of $0.6 billion. After factoring in net investment income and net contribution receipts and benefit disbursements in FY 2009-10, the net investment assets of the retirement funds as of June 30, 2010, were $64.6 billion for the Core Fund and $4.5 billion for the Variable Fund.
The State Investment Fund invests the excess operating funds of State of Wisconsin agencies, the retirement funds, and the Wisconsin Local Government Investment Pool. Net investment income earned by the State Investment Fund decreased 81.4 percent, from $82.6 million in FY 2008-09 to $15.4 million in FY 2009-10 because of lower interest rates in the markets. After factoring in net investment income and net deposits and withdrawals, the State Investment Fund had a net asset balance of $6.5 billion as of June 30, 2010.
The Investment Board is also responsible for investing the assets of five insurance and trust funds: the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund, the State Life Insurance Fund, the Local Government Property Insurance Fund, the Historical Society Trust Fund, and the EdVest Tuition Trust Fund. Each of these funds has different investment policies, as established by the agency responsible for the fund and the Investment Board.
Enclosed is a management letter, which includes an auditor's report on internal control over financial reporting and on compliance and other matters, as required by Government Auditing Standards. As noted in this letter, which was provided to the Investment Board, we did not identify any control or compliance concerns that are required to be reported under these standards.
Sincerely,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 17, 2010
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, as well as a radio network of 14 FM stations and 1 AM station. The ECB Television Network reported $10.0 million in support and revenue during fiscal year 2009-10, 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, 2010, and June 30, 2009. We were able to issue an unqualified independent auditor's report on these statements. However, our report on internal control and compliance includes recommendations that ECB implement additional steps to simplify its financial reporting process to prevent and detect financial statement errors and take steps to improve program change controls over its invoice system.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by ECB staff during the audit.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
__________________
A1037
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 17, 2010
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 14 FM stations and 1 AM station, as well as a television network of 5 digital stations. The ECB Radio Network reported $11.2 million in support and revenue during fiscal year 2009-10, 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, 2010, and June 30, 2009. We were able to issue an unqualified independent auditor's report on these statements. However, our report on internal control and compliance includes recommendations that ECB implement additional steps to simplify its financial reporting process to prevent and detect financial statement errors and take steps to improve program change controls over its invoice system.
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 17, 2010
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 10-16 and 10-17. 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.
Our audit report contains the Foundation's financial statements and related notes as of and for the periods ending June 30, 2010, and June 30, 2009. 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 17, 2010
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed our financial audit of the State of Wisconsin as of and for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. The State's financial statements, and our unqualified audit opinion on them dated December 10, 2010, were included in the State's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, which can be found on the Department of Administration's Web site.
During the course of our audit, we identified internal control concerns that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. The enclosed management letter includes our report on internal control over financial reporting and on compliance. In that report, we make recommendations for various state agencies to improve their financial reporting and to strengthen internal controls, including those over security of computer programs and electronic data. The management letter was provided to the Department of Administration and to other agencies to which we made recommendations for improvement. We will follow up during next year's audit to determine the extent to which state agencies have addressed these concerns.
In addition, early next year, we plan to report to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee certain budgetary accounting concerns identified during our audit.
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
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A1038
State of Wisconsin
Joint Legislative Council
Madison
December 20, 2010
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
Enclosed is a copy of the General Report of the Joint Legislative Council to the 2009-2010 Legislature, prepared and submitted pursuant to s.
13.81 (3), Stats.
I would appreciate your noting in the Assembly Journal, pursuant to s.
13.172, Stats., that this report has been delivered to your office. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Terry Anderson
Director
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health Services
Madison
December 22, 2010
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
As required by
2009 Act 28, Section
1301e, this letter provides a brief summary of the Southeast Wisconsin HMO plans for implementing Patient-Centered Medical Homes for high-risk pregnant women in their service area. I have also attached a copy of each of the four complete plans for your information as well as a copy of the relevant HMO contract language.
The four BadgerCare Plus-contracted health plans in SE Wisconsin are: Abri Health Plan, Children's Community Health Plan, CommunityConnect Healthplan and United Healthcare. These four HMOs were selected through a Request for Proposal to serve BadgerCare Plus members enrolled in the Standard and Benchmark plans in Milwaukee County and the five surrounding counties.
I am pleased to report that all four health plans are working together on this initiative and have jointly recruited several clinics to serve as medical home pilot sites. The sites serve predominately low-income, minority populations and provide comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care for high-risk women. A list of the sites is enclosed for your information.
The medical home pilots will begin operation on January 1, 2011 and continue through the life of the current contract, December 30, 2013. By contract, each HMO is required to enroll a minimum of 100 women in the medical homes in year one, 200 per HMO in year two and 300 per HMO in year three. DHS anticipates much higher enrollment rates by the second year of the pilot.
The implementation plans met and, often exceeded, requirements specified in the contract. DHS is pleased with proposed comprehensive efforts to identify women who may benefit from participating in a medical home, including extensive work with community-based organizations to assist with outreach. The plans include a range of incentives designed to help ensure that women remain enrolled in the medical home throughout their pregnancy and through the postpartum period. Centering Pregnancy, an evidence-based program providing group-based care for women with similar due dates, is a key component of patient engagement strategies.
Each implementation plan describes appropriate protocols for ensuring that women keep appointments and for follow-up for missed appointments, including home visits, personal phone calls and the use of collateral contacts. Each plan also emphasizes that an obstetric care provider will be the primary point of contact for the pregnant woman and will be responsible for coordinating all needed care among multi-disciplinary teams. Protocols appear to be in place for ensuring immediate access to care and 24/7 access to medical advice.
Each participating clinic follows prenatal and postpartum guidelines issued by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and other nationally-recognized guidelines for treating women with chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Care coordinators will work with each clinic to ensure that each BadgerCare Plus member enrolled in the medical home receives the services and supports she needs to have a healthy baby.
Throughout the medical home initiative, the HMOs will monitor and report on a number of performance measures, including three HEDIS (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) measures-early prenatal care, frequency of prenatal care and postpartum care-as well as patient satisfaction. Performance information will be shared regularly with practices, providers and patients.
DHS is working collaboratively with the HMOs to develop a comprehensive evaluation of the medical home pilots for high-risk pregnant women. We would be happy to share the evaluation plan when it is completed.
Please feel free to contact Jason Helgerson, Medicaid Director and Administrator, Division of Health Care Access and Accountability,
Jason.Helgerson@wi.gov or 608-267-9466, if you have any questions or need additional information.
Sincerely,
Karen E. Timberlake
Secretary
