U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Department of Health and Human Services

"Review of the Do Not Forward Initiative," (A-02-02-01023)

February 21, 2003


Complete Text of Report is available in PDF format (3.98 MB). Copies can also be obtained by contacting the Office of Public Affairs at 202-619-1343.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The objective of the review was to evaluate the accounting controls and processes for recording and reporting expenses, liabilities and cash expenditures for checks returned or withheld from Medicare providers under the "Do Not Forward (DNF) Initiative."  The review identified system limitations and weaknesses in the implementation of the DNF guidelines that resulted in misstatements totaling $4,845,530 in Region II carriers’ financial reports.  We recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regional office work with its contractors to effectively implement the DNF guidelines, assure that the misstatements of the financial reports have been properly resolved, and follow up with the contractors to ensure that their financial reports are accurately prepared.  The CMS regional office concurred with the recommendations.  Since the system limitations identified by this review could affect contractors outside Region II, this matter has also been referred to the CMS central office for further consideration.