A long-awaited performance review of local public hospital district Central Health, ordered by Travis County, found no significant deficiencies in the agency's operations but recommended reforms aimed at improving Central Health's financial oversight practices.
Central Health has requested that the audit hearing be postponed, saying it needs time to develop responses to the recommendations made in the report.
The performance review was completed by international audit and tax firm Mazars. Travis County commissioners voted to order the independent review in September 2022 and approved an $845,200 contract with Mazars in April 2023. The decision came following requests from community groups for greater transparency in Central Health's operations, including oversight of its annual $35 million payments to Dell Medical School, and ongoing litigation from taxpayers who believe the money was spent improperly.
“To me, it's always sound public policy to know not just what is being spent, but why it is being spent and what the outcomes are going to be after it is spent,” Commissioner Jeff Travillion said when the contract with Mathers was approved.
Mazars said in his report that he found no breaches of the law or “significant deficiencies” — in other words, no issues that “may adversely affect Central Health's ability to meet its statutory responsibilities or comply with the law.”
But Mazars offered several proposed reforms to improve transparency and financial oversight. The report said Central Health “lacks standard operating procedures” to monitor the spending of funds by its own and third-party providers, and the agency should put in place a “robust financial oversight system.”
Mathers also said there was “room for improvement” in the documentation required from Dell Medical School. The company recommended that Central Health request more documentation about the specific amount and nature of medical services Dell Medical School provides with Central Health funds.
The report from Mathers was briefly posted on the Travis County website on Friday but was removed after Central Health requested a delay to allow time to “thoroughly digest, understand and respond to the investigation.”
“We made significant corrections to significant factual errors in the draft review, but we are not aware if they were reflected in Mazars' final report,” a Central Health representative said in a written statement to KUT. “The review did not result in any findings, but it did make several recommendations, which we are analyzing and considering. We will address the remaining factual errors in the coming days.”
A date for the new public hearing has not yet been set, but Travis County is scheduled to take a final vote on Central Health's 2024-25 budget on Sept. 17, after Central Health releases its budget on Sept. 12.
