"Medicare Inpatient And Outpatient Bad Debts Claimed By Montefiore Medical Center For Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 1999

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

This final report points out that of the $1,942,786 in Medicare hospital bad debts claimed by Montefiore Medical Center on its fiscal year 1999 cost report, at least $283,345 were unallowable for Medicare reimbursement. Many of the unallowable bad debts resulted from claimed bad debts that were unsupported, recoveries of previously written-off bad debts which were not offset against the current period's allowable bad debts, non-systemic clerical and accounting errors, and bad debts claimed for Medicare non-covered services. We recommended that the hospital adjust its 1999 cost report to reduce Medicare bad debts claimed by $283,345. We also recommended that the hospital develop and implement written procedures to reconcile the amount claimed as Medicare bad debts on the cost report to the Medicare bad debt logs, assure that recoveries on Medicare inpatient bad debts are used to reduce the Hospital's claim for reimbursable bad debts in the period the amounts are recovered, and assure that Medicare bad debts claimed by the Hospital meet Medicare reimbursement requirements. The Hospital fully concurred with our findings and recommendations.