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On Monday, the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico delivered a negative assessment regarding the financial activities of the San Juan Department of Health, highlighting numerous discrepancies, such as improper payments, unjustified excesses, and the absence of legal contracts.
The report specifies that the municipality overpaid $299,631 to a contractor responsible for billing and collections, in addition to $115,497 for services rendered without a contract and $22,665 due to an arithmetic mistake. The unsupported transactions hinder the appropriate allocation of public resources, according to the report.
“In Disagreement – The fifth clause of the contract […], between the municipality of San Juan (municipality) and […] stipulated that the Municipality would compensate the contractor for contingencies an amount equal to 11% of the sums collected monthly during the service provision, which includes supplying billing personnel, billing for medical plans, and collections to medical plans,” remarked San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo regarding the findings. “However, it is crucial to point out that the service contract mentioned in the report was awarded for the purpose of furnishing billing and collection personnel to medical plans; medical services (billing and collection) delivered by the Municipal Health Department of San Juan (department) […]; services in areas such as linens, diets, diet supervision, ward clerks, and assistance in medical offices, among others. [sic].”
“We took the mayor’s claims into account, but we concluded that the finding stands,” stated the Comptroller’s Office in reply to Romero Lugo’s dissenting remarks. “The Municipal Contract Regulations stipulate that compensation in such contracts shall never exceed 10% of the generated income.”
Among the discoveries, it was emphasized that nonprofit organizations executed work without legal permission at the Municipal Hospital, receiving payments that were not deposited in municipal accounts. Furthermore, it was noted that a special payer put six checks, amounting to $11,055, into her personal account, an action now referred to the Department of Justice for review.
The report further highlights that the Municipality has failed to maintain accounts receivable records for 50,735 patients, resulting in debts of $7,180,666, which obstructs effective collection management and budget oversight. Additionally, it points out the absence of regulations and procedures for managing inventory and the distribution of medications.
The Comptroller’s Office suggested that the Municipality of San Juan develops a corrective action plan to enhance its internal controls and guarantee effective resource utilization.
In a response on Monday, the municipality stated: “In regard to the recent report released by the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico, which noted several allegations dating back to 2017, it is essential to clarify that all administrative claims cited in the audit findings originated during periods prior to the current administration of Mayor Miguel A. Romero Lugo. The report presented multiple administrative findings from the Office of the Comptroller, for which the current administration of the Municipality of San Juan has undertaken various actions to address.”
