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Fiscal court changes child-support insurance payment process after AG auditors raise record-keeping concerns
Summary
Todd County approved a new payment procedure for health insurance reimbursements tied to county child-support employees after auditors with the attorney general's office required a clearer paper trail; the arrangement shifts the timing of reimbursements but does not change net county cost, county staff said.
The fiscal court approved a revised payment process for health insurance reimbursements tied to county child-support employees after new auditors from the attorney general’s office required a clearer paper trail.
A representative of the county Child Support Office explained that when county employees in that office receive health insurance through the county, a portion of the premium has been paid through a child-support budget line that reimburses the county roughly 66–67 percent. The office representative said the previous informal process — where the county paid the bill and the child-support office sent back its share — was acceptable to prior auditors but the attorney general’s auditors now want the county to be paid in full and then for the child-support office to seek reimbursement through the official process.
The child-support representative described the mechanics: when the county paid an insurance invoice and the child-support office reimbursed 66–67 percent, auditors with the AG’s office said they want a single, clear paper trail showing the county paid the invoice and the child-support office requesting reimbursement. The representative said the net financial effect on the county would remain roughly the same (an example in the meeting showed the county ultimately being out about $323 per month in the prior example), but the paperwork flow will change so the child-support office receives reimbursement from the state and then reconciles with the county.
County officials discussed whether the county could instead write the check directly to the state to reduce the number of checks circulating; the child-support representative said the current contract requires reimbursement to come to the county and that the AG auditors require the revised process.
A motion to approve the new payment process was made, seconded and approved by the fiscal court.
Court action: approved revised paper-trail payment procedure for child-support-funded employee health insurance reimbursements to satisfy attorney general auditors; the representative said the net county cost does not change though the invoicing and reimbursement steps will differ.
