Administrative Assistant

DCS Rate Setting keeps files on all active providers. These files need to be created, updated, and maintained. This is a year-round duty that should be done in preparation of cost report season, Administrative Review, and spatially throughout the year. 

Overview:-

This position would also create both hard and soft folders for the cost reports.

1.      Hard/physical folders are our tangible paper documents that consist of the following:

a.      Cost Report, Cost per Day, Personnel, and the Desk Audit Analysis

b.      Financial documents

c.      Licenses.

d.      Vendor Cost per Day and Personnel Analysis, if applicable.

e.      Any email correspondent that’s of pertinent information from the provider, director, licensing department, etc.

2.      Soft/ digital folders that should be stored on the Rate Setting server should consist of the same information as the hard folders, plus other info pertaining directly to the cost report (which will be mentioned in far job descriptions.)

Gather cost report Info for Auditor

This position would be the first point of contact when a cost report is submitted to DCS. They will oversee the following:

1.      During the process of making the folders, they will make sure the original copy of the cost report, the licenses, and financial documents are attached in the Attachment Tab on iRate.

2.      Check Rate Adjustment with guidance from supervisor (in regard to which adjustment should be appropriate for that year.

3.      Research if cost report should be a Budgeted Report. (This information will be given to the Auditor on written documentation or checklist that will be created for the Auditor.)

4.      If financial information is available, make sure the cost report has the correct Tier listed.

Update Primary Contact Person

Once the cost report has been started by the Auditor, issues have been created, and the provider has responded and sent the issues back to DCS, one of the Standard Questions that the provider must answer is regarding the primary contact person. This is a small task, but extremely important! This information collected will determine who the Deputy Director will send the Rate Letter to in November. We must verify the name, work email, address, and phone number so that when the letters are sent via email, they are NOT undeliverable. Once this information is verified by the Auditor, it needs to be logged into KidTraks.

Purgatory cost reports

This process is when a vendor starts a cost report, doesn’t assign a program, and the program becomes caught in purgatory, meaning the vendor cannot go back and access the cost report. This is extremely helpful when these reports are deleted when trying to run Public Queries. At the end of the year, there’s anywhere between 300-600 cost reports and purgatory.

Copying budgeted report

As directed by the auditor, this position will need to roll over “copy” prior year budgeted report to the current year report.

Research

During the desk audit process, the auditor might have a few items the temp person could research to assist. This will be on an as needed basis.  Below are a few examples:

·       Grant Research – looking into certain revenue the provider has stated on the cost report.

·       RMS Roster List – assist with finding which positions are participating in the RMS and should be allocated to Time Study

·       Completing or updating the Time Study FTE Analysis only if directed by auditor. (This spreadsheet wasn’t available last year but highly recommended for next year.)

·       Assist and reviewing job descriptions. (This would only come after more experience with the Rate Setting Unit.)

·       Research small things like, IARCA membership, maximum Social Security Tax Earnings, Travel reimbursement rate, unallowable vs. allowable cost, etc.

·       (Might) send provider follow-up email 3 days after auditor has submitted issues. Keep track of response in Events Tab in iRate and keep auditor in loop.

·       Rate Research – sometimes when the rate increase or decrease drastically, it’s helpful to research what is happening with the cost and utilization for the program. This information can be done on Excel (easily).

Profit Margin

This has to be updated yearly before the Bulletin is sent to providers. There will be an updated spreadsheet on the Rate Setting server where this information can be updated whenever Private of Profit vendors submit their financial information.

Start Q&A Process

The Rate Setting Unit will create a checklist of items to verify on the cost report, before the director, manager, or auditor starts a Q&A after a cost report is completed. These items will be redundant to a lot of the duties in prior job descriptions however, it’s tremendously important this process is reported with additional checklist items like:

·       Checking Social Security and Medicare FICA tax rate

·       Making sure the LCPA’s Caseload Ratio Limit was updated

·       The provider has listed in §3.1a CCW, CCWM, and CM in conjunction to what’s entered on the T/S FTE Analysis.

·       LCPA number of locations is updated

·       Salary Tier, revenue, and §2.1 salary limit amounts all match

·       All Other line entries, Small Equipment Purchases, and Leased and Rented Equipment have a description