JOHNSTOWN - The state office of the Medicaid inspector general will audit more than two years of records at the former Fulton County Residential Health Care Facility, county officials said Thursday.
Perth Supervisor Greg Fagan, chairman of the Board of Supervisors' Finance Committee, said he doubts the audit is routine. It likely has more to do with the fact the former county facility is now privately owned.
"I'm thinking this wasn't quite so random," Fagan said.
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Suzanne Rose, controller of the former Fulton County Residential Health Care Facility, tells supervisors Thursday about a pending state Medicaid audit of the facility’s financial records.
The Leader-Herald/Michael Anich
Ownership of the 176-bed county nursing home on County Highway 122 switched over to the private, Bronx-based Centers for Specialty Care on March 31. The nursing home is now known as the Fulton Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, was sold for $3.52 million to strengthen the county's coffers.
The Finance Committee on Thursday extended the county's contract with the former infirmary's controller, Suzanne Rose, by a month - it now will expire July 31 - because of the audit. The extension also will help her complete financial statements and close out final billing work related to the transfer of ownership.
"It looks like it makes sense to me," Fagan said of the extension.
Board Chairman Michael F. Gendron added, "To do it right, you need Suzanne."
Fagan hinted Rose's contract may eventually be extended until September. Rose told supervisors she could possibly be retained as a "consultant."
Rose said transition work for the sale of the former infirmary to Centers for Specialty Care has gone well, and most accounting and billing close-out work is near completion.
"I think everything's gone pretty smoothly," she said.
But the committee noted county officials were notified May 14 by the state Office of the Medicaid Inspector General that it will be conducting an audit of Medicaid billing records of the former infirmary for a period from September 2009 through October 2011.
Rose said the audit is expected to take "several weeks."
In addition, she said, work on the former county facility's financial statements and 2012 Medicaid cost reports will not be completed until late June or early July.
Rose said that when the inspector general conducts an audit, it usually involves an "integrity review," with the state checking for "improper payments."
She said state auditors want "all our census reports" for the two-year period, as well as individual residents' financial history reports for the time period.
She said the state conducted a similar Medicaid-related audit of the nursing home in 2010, going back to records from 2005, and the county ended up out about $4,200. Rose said the audits are "easy" to prepare for, because the county has information readily needed by the state.
Otherwise, Rose said, she has been trying to keep up with the financial transition. She said there are four Medicaid cases pending. She said all services were paid for residents up to March 31, when the county stopped owning the facility. She said she has four cost reports to complete.
"Once we get all the payments in, we'll have to analyze all the accounts again and decide what we want to write off," she said.
Rose said reimbursements will continue to be split between the county and its new owners for a certain period. She said financial statements will still need to be done for January through March, and the county still has to eventually determine how to finally "close out the books."