Seven of thirty hospices reviewed did not comply or may not have complied with terms and conditions and federal requirements for Provider Relief Fund payments
Seven of thirty hospices reviewed did not comply or may not have complied with terms and conditions and federal requirements for Provider Relief Fund payments
HHS Office of Inspector General; issued on 11/8/24, posted on 11/14/24
Why OIG Did This Audit: The Provider Relief Fund (PRF), a $178 billion program, provided funds to eligible providers for health care-related expenses or lost revenue attributable to COVID-19. ... This audit is part of a series reviewing PRF payments to various provider types. Specifically, this audit assessed whether 30 selected hospices expended taxpayer funds in accordance with Federal and program requirements. ...
What OIG Found: ... Of the 30 selected hospices, 23 hospices used PRF funds for allowable expenditures and lost revenues attributable to COVID-19; however, 7 hospices did not comply with or may not have complied with Federal requirements. Of these seven hospices, which received $98.1 million in PRF payments, six hospices claimed a total of $8.3 million of unallowable PRF expenditures and inaccurately reported $1.5 million of lost revenues, and one hospice claimed $4 million in expenditures that may not have been allowable. ...
What OIG Recommends: We made two recommendations to HRSA, including that it require the selected hospices to return any unallowable expenditures to the Federal Government or ensure that the hospices properly account for these expenditures. ...