Audit (A-07-07-02726)

12-11-2008
Review of Via Christi Regional Medical Center's Reported Fiscal Year 2005 Wage Data

Executive Summary

Via Christi Regional Medical Center (the Hospital) did not fully comply with Medicare requirements for reporting wage data in its fiscal year (FY) 2005 Medicare cost report. As a result, the Hospital overstated its wage data by $634,000 (numerator of its wage rate calculation) and understated its wage data by 12,263 hours (denominator of its wage rate calculation) for the FY 2005 Medicare cost report period. Our correction of the Hospital's errors decreased the average hourly wage rate approximately 0.5 percent.

We recommended that the Hospital submit a revised FY 2005 Medicare cost report to the fiscal intermediary to correct the wage data overstatement and implement review and reconciliation procedures to ensure that the wage data reported in future Medicare cost reports are accurate, supportable, and in compliance with Medicare requirements. In written comments on our draft report, the Hospital concurred with three of our findings and did not concur with two other findings. The Hospital neither concurred nor nonconcurred with the recommendations. Based on discussions with the Hospital after the issuance of our draft report but before our receipt of the Hospital's written comments, we revised our finding on overstated contract labor costs, the recommended adjustment amount, and the wage rate calculation. Our findings and recommendations, as revised, are valid.

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