2011 Bad Debt and Charity Care (BDCC) Accountant's Report and CFO Certification

February 14, 2012

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). The 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 ICR Exhibit 50, which was added effective for cost report years 2007 forward.

The Department´s Office of Pool Administration (OPA) hosts the software program needed to electronically prepare and file the BDCC Accountant´s Report. This e-file program enables authorized users to enter information, 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.

In order to provide appropriate disclosure, each hospital must also 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. To simplify the submission and processing of this certification, a new application has been added this year to implement electronic certification and filing of the CFO Certification document. Please be advised that effective with the 2011 filing, CFO e-certification is required and hard copy submissions to the Department of the CFO Certification document will not be permitted. Access to the CFO e-certification application is available at the OPA website noted above. The form and related instruction materials for establishing an individual user account for the authorized CFO signatory are available from the OPA´s website as well. As with the BDCC Report software, the CFO Certification software program is free of charge and technical assistance is available to answer your questions.

Instructions for e-filing the BDCC Report and CFO Certification are enclosed with this notice. The instructions include pertinent information needed to access/download the following required documents and reference materials:

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 require electronic filing of the BDCC Report by your accountant.

  • Accountant´s Electronic Filing User ID Application Forms (new forms): DOH-5048 and DOH-5050 are the user application forms for identifying the parties who will be responsible for preparing and filing the report electronically. Your accountant must complete and submit these forms directly to the Pool Administrator in order to activate the User ID(s) and Password(s) required for e-filing your hospital´s 2011 report.
  • BDCC Program User´s Manual (PDF, 606KB, 24pg.): This manual provides assistance to your accountant on the web-based application for electronically filing the BDCC Accountant´s Report.

Please note that there are no changes to the five procedures and that your accountant 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. 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.

Electronic Filing of the CFO Certification (new application):

Effective for the 2011 filing, electronic submission of the CFO Certification document is required. To implement this new application, each facility´s CFO or other duly authorized individual must obtain a User ID and Password. Please note that the CFO User ID and Password will not automatically expire at the end of a given report year. Once established as the authorized CFO signatory for a facility, the CFO signatory´s respective User ID and Password account will remain active until such time that notice is provided to the OPA that a new CFO or other duly authorized individual has been designated for this responsibility. To revise/correct/update a facility´s CFO signatory on file with the OPA, the new authorized CFO signatory MUST complete form DOH-5049 to obtain a User ID and Password and provide notice, as requested on the form, that a change in CFO signatory has occurred. Upon such notice, the OPA will delete the previous CFO signatory´s user account from the electronic certification database and update to the new authorized signatory, as provided on form DOH-5049.

  • NEW - CFO Electronic Filing User ID Application Form: DOH-5049 is the user application form for identifying the individual who will be responsible for electronically signing and filing the CFO Certification document. The CFO signatory must complete and submit the form to the Pool Administrator in order to activate the User ID and Password required for e-filing your hospital´s 2011 CFO Certification.
  • CFO User´s Manual (PDF, 177KB, 11pg.): This manual provides assistance to the CFO signatory on the web-based application for electronically filing the CFO Certification document.

The due date for filing both the 2011 BDCC Accountant´s Report and 2011 CFO Certification is May 31, 2012. Please provide a copy of this notice and the instructions for e-filing the report to your independent public accountant as soon as possible.

If you should have any questions regarding the foregoing, please contact Ms. Yvonne Lavoie of my staff at (518) 474-3267.

Sincerely,

John W. Gahan, Jr.
Director
Bureau of Primary and Acute Care Reimbursement

Enclosure