Auditor Galloway issues report on state agencies' use of federal dollars

State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released her office's review of how Missouri state agencies managed and spent more than $17.1 billion in federal funds during fiscal year 2020. This year's Statewide Single Audit reviewed fifteen federal programs within nine state agencies.

"Each year, billions of dollars are sent to state agencies from the federal government for specific programs," Auditor Galloway said. "The agencies need to be accountable for how these taxpayer funds are used, especially with the unprecedented amount of federal funding that is flowing through Missouri to help with coronavirus relief."

Of the seven findings, four relate to concerns at the Department of Social Services (DSS). The audit found DSS has not fully implemented edits and changes in the Medicaid Management Information System as required. The system edits help ensure only allowable claims are paid by flagging or denying suspicious or unusual claims. Edits and updates should be implemented quarterly, but are instead only done once a year. When edits and updates are implemented, claims are not reprocessed, which increases the risk that errors and irregularities will go undetected.

The report also included several repeat concerns related to DSS including:

·         Insufficient controls to determine the continued eligibility of Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients.

·         Lack of safeguards to prevent inappropriate payments through the adoption assistance program.

·         Failure to ensure periodic review of cost reports or other financial information of nursing facilities receiving Medicaid payments.

The audit provided recommendations for agencies to address the findings and more effectively use taxpayer funds.

Each year, the State Auditor's Office completes an audit of the state's annual statewide financial statements and conducts the Statewide Single Audit. In Fiscal Year 2020, about 30 percent of audit work conducted by the State Auditor's Office related to these federally required reports. In the Fiscal Year 2021, about 40 percent of audit work will be dedicated to these reports. The increase is due to federal requirements to audit billions of dollars in CARES Act and other federal COVID-19 relief expended by the state. Additionally, the State Auditor's Office is releasing monthly reports detailing state government's use of federal stimulus dollars intended for the COVID-19 response.

The complete statewide single audit can be found here.