Handbook
For Medical School Accountants
GME Accounting
Last Date Reviewed: 10/9/15
As part of their medical training, Medical Residents rotate out to other hospitals in the greater Twin Cities Metro area. These are called the affiliated hospitals as they have an affiliation with the U of M Medical School. These hospitals sign an agreement with the Medical School each fiscal year to provide funding in return for the residents’ time working in their hospital.
Resident rotation information, as well as reimbursement information is monitored through the MMCGME (Metro Minnesota Council on Graduate Medical Education) office located in the Dean’s Office of the Medical School. The MMCGME office initiates the annual agreements with the hospitals to secure funding. They also track resident rotation information using a tool called RMS (Resident Management Suite).
At the end of each month (or upon request), RMS will generate reports for the hospitals, the residency programs in the departments and the Dean’s Office of the Medical School. The department information could be sent to the GME coordinator, an accountant, the GME manager or all of the above. RMS generates three reports for each department:
· Invoices (Program Report)
· Backup (FTE Detail for Program)
· SOA (Statement of Activity)
For instructions on how to read any of the reports and/or statements please contact the MMCGME Services at 612-625-0206.
MMCGME sends a billing file to the Financial Analyst in the Dean’s Office once the monthly financial RMS reports have been approved by the Chief Financial Officer. The Financial Analyst takes the data and compares it to the chart string data that departments have provided for each of the residency programs. If there is a new program/hospital combination or it is not clear which chart string the department will want to use, the Financial Analyst will call the department to get the chart string number. If the department does not respond in a timely manner (same day as request), the Financial Analyst will use the GME billing default chart string already established by the department and the department will then need to move the revenue to the correct chart string. If/when chart string changes are necessary, departments should contact the Financial Analyst in the Dean’s Office. If the If the GME reports do not match billing, contact the Financial Analyst in the Dean’s Office. If it is an accounting area, the Dean’s Office will correct it. If the billing file and the entry are correct, the Financial Analyst will have you contact the MMCGME office.
Once the chart strings are recorded, the Dean’s Office will enter the affiliated hospital bills into the EFS system. The next day, Central U of M will send out the bills to the affiliated hospitals. The affiliated hospitals should then send their payments to the lockbox address located on the invoices. Or they may pay by credit card with a fee charged to the department.
Departments will see the revenue from the billings show up in their chart strings immediately, offset by an A/R entry. Once the invoice has been paid, the A/R entry will be offset by an entry to cash (in Central) and the A/R entry will zero out. If the payments to the lock box do not match the invoice, Central Accounts Receivable will contact the Financial Analyst in the Dean’s Office to notify the Medical School of the difference. The Dean’s Office will monitor hospital A/R to ensure that the affiliated hospitals are paying invoices in a timely manner. If they are not, the Dean’s Office will contact the MMCGME office to work with the hospitals to correct it.
Once the payments have been entered in EFS, the departments also have many responsibilities regarding GME hospital billings and the accounting of the payments. All chart strings have the same FUND within your department. Each DEPTID or PROGRAM may be different. Separate program codes have been set up to reflect each of the affiliate sites. Chart Field 1 (CF1) may be selected to track fiscal year. If a department chooses to do this, the only thing that needs to change each fiscal year is the CF1. This allows you to track revenue and expenses by year. Departments are responsible for reconciling the MMCGME reports to the payments hitting the department’s chartstrings. See the SOP supplemental – ALRT process for a sample of how a department may manage this reconciliation process.
Master salary (program 20923) and master fringe benefits (program 20921) chart strings may be used to hold all activity for the residents and are trued up by transferring revenues collected from the various affiliates at the end of the year or when the final affiliation reconciliations are complete. Any shortages are covered by departmental funds.