2008 Bad Debt and Charity Care (BDCC) Certification and Accountant's Report
January 30, 2009
Dear Controller/Chief Financial Officer:
In accordance with Sections 2807-k (9) and (12) of the Public Health Law (PHL), each hospital must submit an agreed-upon procedures report by its independent certified public accountant or independent licensed public accountant regarding BDCC collection efforts. Such reports are required within 120 days from the beginning of each rate year in a form approved by the Commissioner after consultation with the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA). These reports are necessary to determine if each facility is in compliance with requirements mandated in Section 2807-k(9) and k(12) of the PHL regarding eligibility for Hospital Indigent Care and High Need Pool distributions. Please note that the reporting requirements established for the Patient Financial Aid law enacted pursuant to PHL 2807-k (9-a) (i) are addressed through Exhibit 50, a new ICR schedule that was added effective for cost report years 2007 forward.
Electronic Filing of the BDCC Report
In an effort to assure adherence to the use of agreed-upon language and to expedite report submission and subsequent processing by the Department, we are requiring electronic filing of the BDCC Report by your accountant beginning with the 2008 report filing. Please be advised that hard copy submissions of the BDCC Report will no longer be deemed acceptable by the Department for meeting the filing requirements and report submission deadline.
The Department's Office of Pool Administration (OPA) is hosting the software program to be used by your independent licensed/certified accountant to electronically prepare and file your hospital's 2008 BDCC Report. This e-file program enables authorized users to enter report information and electronically sign (certify) and submit reports. It concludes with delivery of an email confirmation notice, along with a copy of your hospital's successfully transmitted report, addressed to (1) your authorized accountant, (2) the hospital and (3) the Department. The software is free of charge and technical assistance is available to answer your questions. Access to the software program is available at the OPA's website: www.hcrapools.org.
Instructions for e-filing of the BDCC Report are enclosed with this notice. The instructions include pertinent website address information needed to access/download the following required documents and reference materials:
Request for information: This document must be completed and returned to the OPA to update Hospital and CFO name and address information for the current report filing. To expedite the electronic processing of your report, we request that you complete the hospital/CFO information and fax a copy to the OPA Help Desk at (315) 448-6786, or mail within 30 days from the date of this letter to the Pool Administrator at the address listed on the document.
Electronic Filing Application Agreement: Attachment 2.12 and 2.12b are the agreements for identifying the parties who will be responsible for filing the report electronically. Your accountant will need to complete and submit these agreements to the Pool Administrator in order to activate the User ID and Password required for e-filing your hospital's 2008 report.
BDCC Program User's Manual: This manual provides assistance to your accountant on the web-based application for electronically filing the BDCC Report.
Proforma BDCC Report: A proforma copy of the accountant's report is provided as a reference for the agreed-upon language for this report.
Please provide a copy of this notice and the instructions for e-filing to your independent public accountant as soon as possible.
Agreed Upon Procedures
Please note that there are no changes to the five procedures and that your auditor should continue to focus on the findings reported from performed agreed-upon procedures. The reporting format recommended by the Health Care Committee of the NYSSCPAs, reviewed by the AICPA and approved by the Commissioner, calls for the reporting of findings or exceptions to immediately follow each procedure of the BDCC report. If there are no findings or exceptions for a given procedure, this fact should be stated after that procedure. Accordingly, the electronic format will automatically adhere to these standards in the development of the finalized report for submission to the Department.
Please be aware that the Department will be reviewing in detail the reports of those hospitals in which exceptions were noted in previous accountant's reports to see what actions have been taken to rectify the areas of deficiency previously noted.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Certification
In order to provide appropriate disclosure, it is necessary that each hospital submit a certification, signed by the CFO, explaining any significant changes from the previous year(s) in the methods and policies used in determining the expense write-off for uncollectible accounts for 2008. The CFO Certification document is available on the OPA's website noted above via a link to the Department's website or can be accessed directly from:
This document cannot be filed electronically. Please forward the completed CFO Certification to the attention of:
Ms. Yvonne LavoiePrincipal Health Care Fiscal Analyst
New York State Department of Health
Bureau of Primary and Acute Care Reimbursement
Nelson Rockefeller Empire State Plaza
Mayor Erastus Corning Tower Building, Room 1043
Albany, New York 12237
BDCC Certification and Accountant's Report Due Date
As in prior years, the due date for both the BDCC Certification and Accountant's Report has been extended to May 31, 2009.
If you should have any questions regarding the foregoing, please contact Ms. Susan Peek of my staff at (518) 474-3267.
Sincerely,
John W. Gahan, Jr.
Director
Bureau of Primary and Acute Care Reimbursement
Enclosure- Instructions for e-filing
