Automated Payments Methodology for 2008 Unified Contract System

To: VESID Unified Contract System Providers

Date: March 18, 2008

From:John F. LaFrank, VESID Contract Manager

Subject: Automated Payments Methodology for 2008 Unified Contract System

The New York State Education Department (SED) Office of Information Technology Services, along with VESID and Office of Fiscal Management, has developed a major improvement in the methodology for reimbursing Unified Contract System (UCS) services for 2008. To implement timelier contract payments, a change in the contract payment process is being implemented for UCS services. SED will be transitioning all UCS vendors to monthly payments and will use the new automated payments methodology.

Payments for 2006/07 including final reconciliation payments will continue to be made by submitting New York State standard vouchers. However, providers will no longer need to submit signed New York State vouchers to VESID’s Contract Unit in Albany for reimbursement beginning with the 2008 Contract Period. Payments will be based on the properly completed VR 370 reports which are currently sent and will continue being sent to your local VESID office. Contractor and VESID local office procedures for this will not change. The time tables for processing VR 370’s will not change:

Vendors submit VR 370’s by the 15th of each month.
District Offices enter data by the last day of each month.
Utilization reports will be available the first business day of the next month.
Note that only those sent to VESID by the 15th and entered by the last business day will be paid in the following month. Late filers will be paid in the subsequent month.

Periodically, an electronic file of contracted services, which have been reported and entered by the local VESID office, will be electronically transferred to Fiscal Management. On a monthly cycle, these transactions will be accumulated and processed as payment requests to OSC as long as your VR 370 reports are submitted to the VESID District Office in a timely manner.

At the present time, SED Fiscal Management is scheduled to begin making monthly payments for proprietary vendors and independent contractors in March for January services delivered as long as the VR 370 reports were received no later then February 15. Not for profits, which currently are in a quarterly payment cycle will begin to be paid in May with three payments (for January, February and March services) as long as the VR 370 reports are received by April 15. If possible, SED may begin the first of these payments sooner. Subsequently, all vendors will be paid monthly for those services that were reported on the VR 370 on the 15th of the prior month. As a general rule, services not properly reported by the 15th of any month will be picked up in the payment in the subsequent month.

Some important provisions of the new payment methodology are:

Providers will get a check monthly for all services provided, reported and entered by VESID prior to the monthly deadlines;
Vendors will receive a remittance indicating consumer name, consumer amount paid and authorization number;
Vendors who are on electronic payment will receive a remittance via email indicating which authorizations were included in the payment along with the notice of deposit;
Services which are not submitted and entered by the deadline will be picked up in the following period’s reimbursement;
Vendors will continue to receive the Cumulative Utilization Detail Report electronically of all authorizations for the contract year; and
Vendors can also go to the OSC website to obtain a remittance advice. You should have the ACH trace number and employer identification number to look up the information.

The exact payment date for the first payment is not known at this time. However, it should be on or before the time when your first payment would have been made without the new methodology (as long as OSC has approved your 2008 contract amendment). Succeeding payments will be made monthly thereafter.

In order to maximize the efficiencies of this new payment methodology, we are strongly advising all providers to register for electronic payments. To do so, please visit the OSC website.

If you have any questions about your VR 370 report, you should continue to contact your local VESID office. Questions about this new payment methodology may be directed to Timothy Hodder, Tina Seda or me at (518) 486-4706.

cc:
Rebecca Cort
Edward Placke
Rosemary Johnson
Deborah Brown-Johnson
Richard Strohl
Lori Scalera
Margaret Albanese
John Cebula
Tina Seda
Timothy Hodder
Margaret Beardsley
William Keane
Donna Koch
Cindy Meyers
Frank DeSanta
Donald Juron
Michael DiVirgilio
VESID Stakeholders
VESID DO Managers
VESID Regional Coordinators
VESID Business Managers