EL PASO COUNTY HOSPITAL POLICY: F-3
DISTRICT POLICY EFFECTIVE DATE: 05/90
LAST REVISION DATE: 0127/136
TRAVEL, MILEAGE AND EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT
POLICY
Associates incurring business travel and entertainment expenses while on authorized El Paso County Hospital District (EPCHD) business must follow EPCHD procedures in order to receive reimbursement.
RESPONSIBLE
Board of Managers
Management Associates
EPCHD Associates
Fiscal Services
Compliance
DEFINITIONS
Business Travel – Travel related to job position for the benefit of the EPCHD.
Business Entertainment – An entertainment cost incurred when conducting a business meeting related to the EPCHD. Limited to mMmanagement Associates.
PROCEDURE
A. All travel for the EPCHD will be authorized in advance using the Travel Authorization Request (TAR) form. The TAR form can be found in the UMC Intranet Applications page under the Travel Forms Tab.
B. The TAR must be filled out and submitted with a travel justification memo and estimated travel expenditure to the area Administrator for approval.
C. The Administrator will assess the necessity of the request based on the supporting justification and estimated travel expense. Upon approval, the TAR will be forwarded to the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for final review and approval.
D. The area Administrative Assistant will notify the Associate if the travel request is approved or denied by the CEO. If the TAR is approved, it will be forwarded to the designated Administrative Associate and travel arrangements will be procured using the EPCHD’s corporate credit card, as further defined under the Covered Expenses paragraph.
E. It is recognized that the CEO is promoting the mission of the EPCHD to various community stakeholders. The CEO has the ability to make exceptions to this policy for EPCHD events, functions and meetings.
F. Covered Expenses
The EPCHD will reimburse the following expenses:
Rregistration ffFees,
aAirfaresline or ground transportation expenses,
Reasonable airline baggage fees
mMeals,
lLodging, and
Iinternet connection, telephone or cellular phone expenses for work-related usage that are reasonable and necessary for conducting business.
The meals and lodging expense for grant related travel will only be reimbursed only up to the amount prescribed in the OMB’sGeneral Service Agreements (GSA) Contractor Financial Procedure Manual also found in www.gsa.gov.
G. Transportation
1. Air travel must be on discount or restricted coach fares. If time does not permit the advanced purchase of discount or restricted coach fare tickets it should be noted on the TAR form. All airline reservations will be made by the designated Executive Administrative Associate unless significant savings opportunities are available through the Internet and the Associate is willing to be reimbursed for charging the travel on a personal credit card. Fees for upgrades to business, first or unrestricted fares are the responsibility of the Associate. Mileage, upgrade certificates, airline ticket vouchers and such awards are the property of the Associate.
2.
3. Under normal conditions Associates will provide their own transportation to the point of departure (airport). Parking fees will be reimbursed for leaving a private vehicle at the airport long-term parking. If circumstances warrant, local taxi fares will be paid but only at the lower of the cost of the taxi or the cost of parking at the airport long-term parking for the travel period. The Associate will not be reimbursed mileage to and from the airport or other point of departure as it will be considered going to and from the work site.
4.
5. If the Associate elects to drive their his/her personal automobile to the out of town business location instead of flying, reimbursement will be at the lower of 1) the cost of the airline discount or restricted coach fare or 2) the round-trip mileage multiplied by the current EPCHD mileage reimbursement rate, which is equivalent to the current year standard mileage rate as determined annually by the Internal Revenue Service.
6.
7. Local Transportation (El Paso)
8.
In the event the Associate is required to use their personal automobile for local business purposes, EPCHD will reimburse the Associate for the miles driven at the year’s IRS published mileage rates. Reimbursable mileage includes travel to and/from the hospital to the neighborhood clinic sites but excludes mileage from home to works sites. All Associates receiving mileage expense reimbursement must have personal automobile liability insurance.
The Associate will submit the Monthly Mileage Reimbursement form to Fiscal Services with the appropriate information completed (business purpose, the to/from locations, miles driven, etc.) and must be signed by the Associate’s immediate supervisor and Administration (if necessary). The Monthly Mileage Reimbursement form must be submitted within 30 days of mileage incurred to Fiscal Services. The Monthly Mileage Reimbursement form can be located in the UMC-El Paso Intranet Applications page under the Travel Forms Tab.
9.
10.
11. Out of Town Transportation
Public transportation is the preferred mode of transportation of travel for general out-of-town commuting. Eligible travel is:
1) to and from the hotel and airport, and
2) to and from the hotel and conference site if not at the same location.
If a rental car is necessary, the request must be made and approved on the TAR form. The reservation for the rental car will be made by the authorized EPCHD representative when making the other travel arrangements. The size of the rental car should be the least expensive model available to adequately accommodate the number of travelers and the business requirements of the trip. EPCHD carries standard liability insurance for all personnel traveling on EPCHD business. The Optional Collision Waiver should be purchased and is covered by the Hospital. All travelers will be required to refuel the car before drop-off to the rental agency. All travelers must report all crashes or injuries to the local police, the car rental agency, and the EPCHD Risk Manager within 24 hours of the crash or injury. Additionally, a written report must be submitted to the EPCHD Risk Manager.
a. Local Transportation (El Paso):
Under normal conditions Associates will provide their own transportation to the point of departure. Parking fees will be reimbursed for leaving a private vehicle at the airport long-term parking. If circumstances warrant, local taxi fares will be paid but only at the lower of the cost of the taxi or the cost of parking at the airport long-term parking for the travel period. The Associate will not be reimbursed mileage to and from the airport or other point of departure as it will be considered going to and from the work site.
In the event the Associate is required to use their personal automobile for business purposes, EPCHD will reimburse the Associate for the miles driven at the year’s IRS published mileage rates. Reimbursable mileage includes travel to and/from the hospital to the neighborhood clinic sites but excludes mileage from home to works site. All Associates receiving mileage expense reimbursement must have liability insurance.
The Associate will submit the Monthly Mileage Reimbursement form to Fiscal Services with the appropriate information completed (business purpose, the to/from locations, miles driven, etc) and must be signed by the Associate’s immediate supervisor and Administration (if necessary). The Monthly Mileage Reimbursement must be submitted within 30 days of mileage incurred to Fiscal Services. The Monthly Mileage Reimbursement form can be located in the UMC-El Paso Intranet Applications page under the Travel Forms Tab.
b. Out of Town Transportation:
Public transportation is the preferred mode of transportation of travel for general out-of-town commuting. Eligible travel is 1) to and from the hotel and airport and 2) to and from the hotel and conference site if not at the same location. If a rental car is necessary, the request must be made and approved on the TAR form. The reservation for the rental car will be made by the authorized EPCHD representative when making the other travel arrangements. The size of the rental car should be the least expensive model available to adequately accommodate the number of travelers and the business requirements of the trip. EPCHD carries standard liability insurance for all personnel traveling on EPCHD business. The Optional Collision Waiver should be purchased and is covered by the Hospital. All travelers will be required to refuel the car before drop-off to the rental agency. All travelers must report all crashes or injuries to the local police, the car rental agency, and the EPCHD Risk Manager within 24 hours of the crash or injury. Additionally, a written report must be submitted to the EPCHD Risk Manager.
H. Meals
The following expense limits will generally apply for travel and business entertainment meals:
Daily meal expense limits – Reimbursement for meals incurred will not exceed the current published IRS Daily Meal Allowance except for grant-related travel where the GSA’sOMB’s Contractor Financial Procedures allowance will be used. The IRS daily meal allowance is published daily and can be found in the IRS website (www.irs.gov). This is not a daily per diem allowance but a daily limit. Reimbursement will require actual detailed receipts. The amount of the daily limit is listed on the Travel & Expense Reimbursement form.
Additional per-person costs, exceeding the above limits, will be the employee’s Associate’s responsibility. All requests for reimbursement for meals must include the following:
Pproof of payment via a detailed restaurant receipt showing
nName of establishment
, cCity and state
, dDate of expense
and sSpecific items consumed.
For business entertainment reimbursement, the receipt must also have noted the people present and the purpose of the meeting/entertainment.
All expenses must be submitted via a Travel Reimbursement form.
Alcohol purchases will not be reimbursed.
I. Tips
To be reimbursed, tips must be considered reasonable, usual, and customary except for grant related travel where tips are not allowed to be reimbursed..
J. Travel Advances
The EPCHD will normally pay for the airline tickets and conference registration fee in advance. Registration fees will be mailed in advance with the registration form. All other expenses will be on an expense reimbursed basis.
If the Associate is unable to bear the cost of travel and/or does not have a major credit card to use during the travel experience, a request for a travel advance should be made and approved through the proper channels. A travel advance will be issued as follows: Lodging expense will be made with a notice of room rates from the intended hotel and meals will be advanced at $35 per day. The travel advance should be reported on the Travel Reimbursement form when seeking reimbursement for all expenses.
K. Reimbursement Procedure
The Travel & Expense Reimbursement form will be completed and submitted with proper signatures no later than 30 days from the last day of travel and must be signed by the direct supervisor. The Travel and Expense Reimbursement form can also be found in the Travel Forms Tab. The signed Travel Authorization Request must be attached to the Travel and Expense Reimbursement form. Any travel and expense reimbursements received after 30 days from date of travel will not be reimbursed. If travel required personal use of a credit card, then the grace period for travel reimbursement will be extended to five days after date of receipt of the Associate’s credit card statement. The request will be completed and submitted with the proper documentation as listed below:
1. TAR - Copy of approved and signed TAR form
2. Air Fare - Original passenger coupon and copy of itinerary
3. Hotel - Original folio
4. Car Rental - Original rental agreement
5. Taxi/Shuttle - Original receipt from the cab company
6. Meals - Card member charge/credit card copy and/or computer generated cash register receipt for non-chargeable items. Receipt must detail number of individuals served, items served and time of day. Cash tear tabs are not usually an acceptable form of receipt (a.k.a. “Food check tear-off”) and should be explained if submitted for reimbursement.
7. Other - Card member charge/credit card copy or computer generated cash register receipt for non-chargeable items.
L. Non-Reimbursable Items
The following items are not reimbursed:
- Air phone/car phone
- iInterest and bank/credit card service charges
- dDry cleaning
- , gGifts
- bBaby sitting
- pPersonal entertainment
- eExtra luggage
- aAirline club dues
- Preferred Seating Upgrade Expenses
- tTraffic fines
- iIn-room movies
- iIn-flight movies
- pPersonal cellular phone expenses.
· EPCHD will not reimburse the cCost of lodging, local transportation, meals or other costs in excess of the minimum days necessary for travel or conference attendance.
· EPCHD will not reimburse tTransportation, lodging and meal expenses for a traveler’s spouse, significant other, or dependent.
- 16.
Alcoholic beverages consumed by EPCHD Associates will not be reimbursed.
M. Approvals
The Associate incurring the travel expense must be familiar with this policy (EPCHD F-3 Travel, Mileage, and Expense Reimbursement), in order to ensure compliance and prudent spending of EPCHD funds.
The traveler is responsible for completing the Travel and Expense Reimbursement report in accordance with this policy.
1.
Travel and Expense Reimbursement Directors and Managers Approvers must have read and understood this policy (EPCHD F-3 Travel, Mileage, and Expense Reimbursement), and their signature indicates reconciliation, adherence and compliance with this policy.
N. Extended Stays
An eExtended Sstay occurs when an Associate travels for EPCHD business and the travel is for a period of longer than one week.
Additional expenses associated with extended travel (weekend stays instead of flying home for the weekend) will be reimbursed. Such expenses, which include lodging, meals, and car rental, shall not exceed the amount of round-trip airfare to El Paso.
Travelers on long-term travel should use establishments catering to the long-term visitor (e.g., weekly or monthly rentals).
1.
Extended sStay travelers are subject to the dDaily mMeal eExpense lLimit. Travelers may purchase groceries for use over the period of travel. However the total cost of groceries is to be included in the dDaily mMeal lLimit on the day the groceries were purchased, even if the groceries are consumed over several days.
2.
4. If traveling with a spouse, significant other, or dependent, groceries expense will only be reimbursed for the traveling Associate. If groceries are purchased for more than one traveler then the grocery expense must be prorated. EPCHD will only reimburse the grocery expense for the traveler.