A long-anticipated 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 requested to postpone a public hearing on the audit, saying it needed time to formulate a response to recommendations made in the report.
The performance review was completed by the international audit and tax firm Mazars. Travis County commissioners voted to order the independent review in September 2022 and approved the $845,200 contract with Mazars in April 2023. The decision followed calls from community groups asking for more transparency into Central Health’s operations. This includes its oversight of a $35 million annual payment to Dell Medical School — which is also the subject of an ongoing lawsuit from taxpayers who believe the money has been spent improperly.
“To me, it is always sound public policy not just to know what is being spent, but why it’s being spent and what it is rendering after it’s been spent,” Commissioner Jeff Travillion said at the time the Mazars contract was approved.
In the report, Mazars said that no violations of law or “significant deficiencies” were found — in other words, no issues “which could adversely affect Central Health’s ability to fulfill its statutory responsibilities or comply with the law.”
But Mazars did spell out a number of recommended reforms to improve transparency and financial oversight. The report said Central Health “lacks standard operating procedures” for overseeing funds spent by itself and by third-party providers and said the agency should implement “a robust financial monitoring system.”
Mazars also said there is “room for improvement” in the documentation required from Dell Medical School. The firm recommended Central Health require more documentation on the specific quantity and nature of health care services Dell Medical School offers with Central Health funding.
The report from Mazars was briefly posted on Travis County’s website on Friday before being taken down after Central Health asked for a postponement to allow more time “to thoroughly digest, understand and respond to the review.”
“We had made some important corrections to significant factual errors in the draft review that we aren’t sure were incorporated in Mazars’ final product,” a Central Health representative said in a written statement to KUT. “While there were no findings in the review, it does make some recommendations that we are analyzing and discussing. We will address remaining factual errors soon.”
A new public hearing date has not yet been set. However, Travis County is scheduled to hold a final vote on Central Health’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget on Sept. 17, following a budget presentation by Central Health on Sept. 12.
