SB 571-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2018 SESSION

18-2996

08/04

SENATE BILL 571-FN

AN ACT requiring the department of health and human services to perform an efficiency audit.

SPONSORS: Sen. Daniels, Dist 11

COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration

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ANALYSIS

This bill requires the department of health and human services to perform an efficiency audit.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

18-2996

08/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen

AN ACT requiring the department of health and human services to perform an efficiency audit.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1  Department of Health and Human Services; Efficiency Audit.  The commissioner of the department of health and human services shall initiate and complete an efficiency audit of the department.  The commissioner is authorized to use up to $2,000,000 of funds budgeted to the department for the biennium ending June 30, 2019, with the approval of the fiscal committee of the general court, for the purposes of the efficiency audit.

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.

LBAO

18-2996

1/8/18

SB 571-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT requiring the department of health and human services to perform an efficiency audit.

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [    ] County               [    ] Local              [    ] None

METHODOLOGY:

This bill appropriates $2 million for the fiscal year (FY) ending June 30, 2019 to the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services for the purpose of conducting a Department-wide efficiency audit.  While the bill does not define the scope of an efficiency audit, the Department assumes it would include a review of management processes, information technology systems, administrative practices, and operational systems.  The Department assumes it will contract with an external entity to perform the audit.  Although the Department has never before contracted for an efficiency audit and so is unable to estimate the cost, for informational purposes it has provided the following summary of recently approved contracts:

• $277,545 for a public assistance cost allocation plan review.  Services are being provided to evaluate existing plan design and recommend improvements for efficiency and the maximization of public funds.
• $1,597,777 for an evaluation of the NH Health Protection Program Premium Assistance demonstration waiver.  A consultant has been contracted over a four-year period to implement an approved evaluation plan that explores and explains the effectiveness of the program.
• $82,000 for a quality assurance review of the Division of Children, Youth, and Families.  The Department has contracted with a consultant to conduct a targeted quality assurance review of $1,500 child protective service assessments.

The appropriation contained in the bill is for FY 2019 only.  The Department assumes that after issuing a request for proposals, selecting a vendor, and having a vendor complete the audit, the audit report and recommendations would not themselves be provided until FY 2020, and that any costs or savings associated with implementing the report's findings would therefore extend beyond FY 2019.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Health and Human Services