Commonwealth of Virginia Single Audit Report for the Year Ended ...

We recommend that Social Services develop a mechanism to adjust monitoring plans as
changes in risk occur and that senior management review these modifications to ensure each
division’s actions are acceptable and that Social Services is not assuming too much risk as a whole.
Management Plan for Corrective Action for the Department of Social Services
The Department will develop a mechanism to adjust monitoring plans as changes in
risk occur and secure senior management review of these modifications to ensure
each division’s actions are acceptable and that the Department is not assuming too
much risk.
Responsible Party: Jack Frazier, Director, Division of Community and Volunteer Services
Estimated Completion Date: April 1, 2012
11-21: Obtain Valid Social Security Numbers
Applicable to: Department of Medical Assistance Services
Federal Program Name and CFDA#: Medicaid Cluster #93.778
Compliance Requirements: Eligibility – Title 42 CFR 435.910(g) and 435.920
Type of Finding: Internal Control and Compliance
Consistent with last year, we found that invalid social security numbers from local
departments of social services created another $5 million in possible questioned costs for the
Medicaid program. This is a result of the Commonwealth not improving the process for obtaining
valid social security numbers during fiscal 2011.
In the prior year audit, we notified the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, Medical
Assistance Services, and Social Services that local departments of social services were not correcting
unverified social security numbers as required. To confirm our finding, during fiscal 2011 Medical
Assistance Services conducted a Medicaid Eligibility Quality Control (MEQC) pilot on the Social
Security Number (SSN) verification process. In the cases reviewed, 22 percent had eligibility errors
and 39 percent had technical errors. Medical Assistance Services issued its MEQC results on
July 29, 2011 and subsequently implemented the Commonwealth’s corrective action plan to obtain
valid SSNs during fiscal 2012.
According to management, as of September 30, 2011 local departments of social services
will only enroll an individual into Medicaid if they verify the applicant’s SSN with the Social
Security Administration. Staff must use either the State Verification Exchange System (SVES) or
the State Online Query-Internet System (SOLQ-1) to verify an individual’s SSN during the
application process.
As a result of the time it took management to develop and implement a corrective action
plan, we will test the effectiveness of the new process for obtaining valid SSNs during next year’s
audit.
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