Review of Medicare Bad Debts for Hospital Inpatient Services Claimed by St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 1999

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The objective of this review of hospital inpatient Medicare bad debts at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center (the Hospital) was to determine if the bad debts claimed by the Hospital met Medicare reimbursement requirements.  The final report pointed out that the Hospital generally complied with Medicare bad debt reimbursement requirements in claiming $1,141,841 on its FY 1999 cost report.  However, we did find that the Hospital overclaimed $74,412, which generally resulted from clerical errors.  The Hospital substantially concurred with our findings and recommendations.