Report 2018-115 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 2018-115: Department of Health Care Services: Although Its Oversight of Managed Care Health Plans Is Generally Sufficient, It Needs to Ensure That Their Administrative Expenses Are Reasonable and Necessary (Release Date: April 2019)
| Recommendations to Health Care Services, Department of | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Recommendation | Status |
| 1 | To help identify successful improvement projects, by September 2019 DHCS should require health plans to annually report the results of those projects they plan to continue or expand to other locations. |
Fully Implemented |
| 2 | Using the annual reports of successful improvement projects health plans plan to continue or expand to other locations, by December 2019 DHCS should compile a list of successful improvement projects to share with other health plans on a periodic basis, but at least annually. |
Fully Implemented |
| 3 | To ensure that DHCS consistently identifies health plans that do not have required processes to detect and prevent fraud, it should immediately reevaluate its audit program for medical audits and revise it as necessary to ensure that staff follow the audit procedures regarding fraud and abuse programs. |
Fully Implemented |
| 4 | By September 2019, and periodically thereafter, DHCS should conduct another risk assessment and ensure that it includes a comprehensive evaluation of which contract areas—including conflicts of interest—it should focus on in its annual medical audits. |
Partially Implemented |
| 5 | Going forward, DHCS should conduct a comprehensive risk assessment and ensure that it reviews health plans' conflict-of-interest controls at least once every three years. |
Partially Implemented |
| 6 | DHCS should develop and issue an All-Plan letter or other binding guidance by March 2020 to the health plans that specifically defines what constitutes reasonable and necessary administrative expenses. |
Pending |
| 7 | DHCS should provide guidance to health plans on what is a reasonable bonus program. In doing so, DHCS should perform the necessary oversight to ensure health plans comply with this direction. |
Will Not Implement |