OLYMPIA -- Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams said the newly released 2006 Medicaid audit shows the state's largest agency has made tremendous progress clearing up fiscal questions and potential problems cited by the State Auditor in past years.

"The total findings have dropped from 28 last year to 19 this year – the first year since 2000 that the total findings have gone down," Arnold-Williams noted. "In addition, only seven of the findings this time have questioned costs, a sharp turnaround."

Of the total $7 million in questioned costs, $5 million was related to State Medicaid Plan amendments that have already been submitted to the federal government for approval. Arnold-Williams said the agency was already beginning to draw up corrective action plans for the remaining findings and that she was confident DSHS would continue to show progress.

"Nineteen findings are still too many, but it shows we are on the right path," she said.

Arnold-Williams said the 2006 audit also shows that she and State Auditor Brian Sonntag succeeded in bringing a new level of cooperation to the audit process, erasing an era of discord between the agency and the audit teams.

She noted that this year's process was cordial and that the unresolved findings basically reflect the fact that the state sometimes receives conflicting directives from the federal government.

Two examples of the latter are audit findings in which the audit team interpreted federal rules to mean the Department of Health and DSHS were not properly inspecting and certifying hospitals and Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded. Arnold-Williams said she and the Auditor are pressing the federal government to agree on the correct answer.

In a third example, the federal Office of the Inspector General is currently conducting an audit of Washington State's Alien Emergency Medical program, following up on previous state audit findings. Arnold-Williams said DSHS agreed last year that it will abide by the OIG audit results, even if they run counter to the agency's previous understanding of federal regulations.

EDITORS: The annual Medicaid audit is posted on the State Auditor's Web site: www.sao.wa.gov.