Generally, contract rates have increased an average of 7.8 percent over the last three years, based on a sample of 27 contracts representing 75 percent of the Commission's contracted care population. The average rate increase roughly parallels the Consumer Price Index for food, shelter, medical care, and other goods and services. The Commission should reevaluate the data it requires providers to submit.
Compare unit costs for general living and special services across different providers.
Conduct external benchmarking of costs for selected services such as counseling and therapy to determine the reasonableness of such costs. In addition to improvements in cost reporting data, the Commission should review and assess the technical skills staff members need to adequately analyze cost data. The Commission should also consider allowing providers with a very small number of Commission placements to submit simplified cost reports to reduce the administrative burden associated with such requirements. Contact the SAO about this report. Download the acrobat version of this report.