Q&A
Process for correcting errors and payment challenges for providers
0:32:58
·
5 min
Commissioner Park and Council Member Brewer discuss the process for correcting errors in expense reports and the financial challenges faced by providers due to payment delays.
- Different payment processes for family providers (upfront payments) and single adult/street providers (after-the-fact invoicing)
- Enhanced review process for providers with past financial challenges
- Recent implementation of the Passport system for invoice review, causing some transitional challenges
- DSS paid $288 million to providers in a recent 6-week period
- Concerns about providers having to borrow money to cover expenses while waiting for reimbursement
- DSS commits to improving the balance between accountability and timely payments
Gale A. Brewer
0:32:58
Okay.
0:32:58
And one more question, then turn it over to my colleague.
0:33:01
So I think the issue, of course this is both mocks and DSS.
0:33:05
But the issue is when you submit an expense report that has errors, obviously, we want the errors to be corrected.
0:33:10
We want the expense report to be correct.
0:33:13
But what's the typical process for correcting the error, and how long does that take?
0:33:18
Now, also, you hear, you know, I can people are borrowing money to be able to pay so that they can pay their staff.
0:33:25
And then, of course, they have to pay the interest on that borrowing.
0:33:28
So there's a lot of concern from the nonprofit community.
0:33:31
Marx hears about this all the time.
0:33:33
DSS hears about this all the time.
0:33:35
I hear about this all the time.
0:33:37
So the question is, I mean, there's an error, then there's an error.
0:33:40
There's the punctuation error, and then there's the serious financial error.
0:33:44
So I I just wonder how are you dealing with the time frame and how just generally are you trying to speed up both maybe you need more staff.
0:33:54
Obviously, you wanna make sure, and we this report is all about, that it's done correctly.
0:33:58
So just give me a little sense of the timing and how you're dealing with the insignificant errors versus the real errors, and how are we gonna deal with some of these nonprofits that are paying, you know, gazillion dollars, $28,000 a month.
0:34:11
I'm not gonna mention which one, but that was somebody who's doing that just to borrow the money to pay the staff until they get reimbursed.
Molly Wasow Park
0:34:19
Thank you, council member.
0:34:20
I think you you hit on the tension very well.
0:34:24
Right?
0:34:24
We wanna do things carefully and with thorough review and also quickly.
0:34:29
And those two things are are sometimes in in conflict.
0:34:34
So let me describe what we do now and some of the changes we're making, and then then I'll ask my my colleagues to chime in.
0:34:41
For family providers, so that's both families with children and also adult families, they are typically paid upfront, at the beginning of the month.
0:34:52
We'd make what is called a care day advance.
0:34:55
So that is a state approved per diem times the number of beds, and they get that upfront.
0:34:59
To the extent that they have any additional expenses, that aren't incorporated into that state per diem, then they invoice after the fact, and we will review and and approve.
0:35:11
For single adult and street providers, it's only that after the fact invoice process.
0:35:16
So, they typically invoice at the middle of the following month.
0:35:21
So right now, we're starting to get the November invoices, for example.
0:35:25
For a provider that is not on enhanced review, we will do a, fairly top line prepayment review, you know, looking at at some payroll records, a few other, high level, checks and balances, and then more of that review process happens after payment.
0:35:43
We so we do a post payment audit.
0:35:45
For providers that are on enhanced review, which as I mentioned, anybody who has had certain levels of of financial challenges in the past, then we are doing a more thorough review, in upfront.
0:35:59
How long that process takes can can vary substantially, again, based on enhanced reviews or not enhanced review, how complicated the invoice is.
0:36:09
But we are actively working with Mocs right now.
0:36:13
They've been issuing guidance that allows us to to be a bit more nimble.
0:36:17
For example, they just put out guidance on how to make a partial payment.
0:36:20
Right?
0:36:21
So that if a part of the invoice is fine, a part of the invoice has some challenges that we can move forward with the part that is fine.
0:36:27
We appreciate their guidance.
0:36:30
We absolutely recognize that we are in a challenging place with respect to payments right now.
0:36:35
The city last year migrated to the passport system for invoice review.
0:36:39
I am fully confident in the long run that that is going to make, all of our lives better, more efficient, and more accountable, but it has been a challenging migration.
0:36:49
In addition, DHS has a 50% more contracts than it did a couple of years ago, so that's also challenging.
0:36:55
We are working with MOX on really a full court press to make sure that we are getting payments out to nonprofits, as quickly as possible while retaining that accountability.
0:37:06
Just to put a little bit of context on it, since the beginning of November, so about a 6 week period, DHS has paid $288,000,000 and HRA another $68,000,000.
0:37:18
So we are working on getting money out to our provider community.
0:37:22
We know we have more work to do.
0:37:23
We are committed to it, and to really balancing that with the accountability.
Gale A. Brewer
0:37:28
Just a question.
0:37:28
And then I'll on the nonenhanced, do you have some sense of how many have had to borrow and what their cost is of doing that?
0:37:37
Is that something you track?
Molly Wasow Park
0:37:40
I we don't track it on a quantitative basis.
0:37:43
Certainly, we have heard that from providers as well.
0:37:45
I am aware that this is and this is a top priority for the agency that we need to do better.
Gale A. Brewer
0:37:51
Of money.
0:37:51
So just a total waste of money.
Molly Wasow Park
0:37:53
That the agency absolutely needs to do better on on balancing that accountability and profit.
Gale A. Brewer
0:37:57
Is that something that you could get us in terms of that information?
Molly Wasow Park
0:38:02
We can do a survey of our providers, but, you
Gale A. Brewer
0:38:04
know I would appreciate that.
0:38:05
I think it would help all of us to understand what the real issue is.
0:38:08
I'm not talking about the the the enhanced, but particularly for the nonenhanced as you call them.
0:38:13
Okay.
0:38:14
Now I wanna turn it over to my council member, but I first wanna recognize council member Restler, Zong, Batcher, and Bernicoff, and council member Aiello.
Julie Won
0:38:24
You did have the 7.
0:38:25
Right?
0:38:26
Mhmm.
UNKNOWN
0:38:26
You did
Gale A. Brewer
0:38:26
have the 7?
0:38:27
Yep.
0:38:28
Yep.
0:38:29
Yep.
