Approval: A. Medical Staff Any Physician Advanced Practice Nurse, and/or Physician Assistant.

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1 POLICY No: Originated By: Finance Department Original Date: July 2013 Formerly named - Hospital Business Travel and Attendance Last Review Date: July 1, 2013 Last Revised Date: Oct March 2014 Policy Owner(s): Chief Financial Officer Approval: President and Chief Executive Officer or Designee Policy Committee (Signatures on file) I. POLICY: The MetroHealth System (MHS) will pay for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with authorized business on behalf of The MetroHealth System. II. PURPOSE: To establish guidelines and timelines necessary for reimbursement of appropriate business expenses. To provide procedures for reimbursing employees and to designate expenses which are appropriate for reimbursement. III. IV. SCOPE: The MetroHealth System DEFINITIONS: A. Medical Staff Any Physician Advanced Practice Nurse, and/or Physician Assistant. B. Per Diem - Daily reimbursable allowance for meal expenses established by the General Services Administration (GSA). C. Reimbursement Payment to the traveler based on documented, reasonable and actual business travel expenses supported by original, itemized receipts, where required. 1

2 D. Special Assignment With Pay Form (esawp) An electronic form found on the MIV used to request permission to be away from the hospital on hospital business. Required approvals must be obtained at least 30 days prior to travel. E. Supplemental Approval the pre-approval of variances or exceptions from policy as stated within. The following individuals whom can authorize a variance(s) or exception(s) requests for reimbursement; Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief of Staff, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Operating Officer. These variances/approvals are required to be in writing and included with the expense report V. GUIDELINES: A. Travelers should incur the lowest reasonable travel expenses and exercise care to avoid impropriety and/or the appearance of impropriety. B. If a circumstance arises that is not specifically covered in this policy, the most conservative course of action should be taken. C. Within 30 days of completion of the trip (unless special circumstances and approved by the Chief of Staff), the traveler must submit an Expense Reimbursement Form and supporting documentation to obtain reimbursement of expenses. MHS reserves the right to deny payment or reimbursement of travel related expenses for failure to comply with system policies and procedures. D. Travelers should verify that planned travel is eligible for payment or reimbursement prior to making travel arrangements. E. No MHS employee shall be reimbursed for travel expenses by MHS if such travel results in payment to the individual from other institutions for his or her time, services, etc. unless such payments are turned over to MHS. Travel for hospital business is within the approved budget for the department and less than $10,000 for the requesting employee or as per contracted and budgeted. Exceptions to the dollar amount require written Supplemental Approval. VI. REQUIRED APPROVAL: 2

3 A. Medical Staff Travel Approval 1. Administrative Director 2. Department Chair All travel by Department Chairs requires the approval by the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Operating Officer. B. Non-Medical Staff Travel Approval (including Nursing staff) 1. Direct Supervisor 2. Vice President (Nursing staff will need approval of VP of Nursing) All travel by Vice Presidents requires the approval by the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Travel outside of the Continental United States by non-medical staff is strictly prohibited. VII. PROCEDURE: A. Travel Requests/ Special Assignment with Pay 1. All requests for travel must be pre-approved. Requests must be made at a minimum 30 days prior to first day of travel. Any travel requested in less than 30 days will require approval of a Vice President or above. 2. Requests are to be made using the electronic Special Assignment With Pay (esawp) form on the MIV. The esawp requires travelers to indicate city and state of destination, actual dates of travel, estimates of all costs to be incurred (i.e. airfare, lodging, meals, rental car, registration, etc.) and whether MHS operating funds or MHS other funds (i.e. special or endowment funds) will be used to cover expenses. Travelers must also document the reason for attendance, coverage during their absence (in the Additional Comments section) and the benefits to MHS to be derived from such travel. 3. The completed form will be submitted electronically to the appropriate approvers as defined in Section VI. Once the final approver has electronically approved the request, the 3

4 traveler/requestor will be sent an notifying them that their trip has been approved. 4. Once all necessary/appropriate approvals have been made, travel reservations can be secured using the OnBase Travel Approval (OTA) number, included in the final approval . B. Travel Reservations 1. MHS has designated Professional Travel as its travel agency. All airline, hotel and ground transportation reservations are to be booked through Professional Travel s online booking tool, MH Travel Port. 2. Employees who have never traveled must complete a Traveler Profile form prior to using the online booking tool. Those who have previously traveled are encouraged to review their travel profiles annually by calling Professional Travel (216) or by logging into the MH Travel Port system. 3. Airfare a) Economy/coach class airline tickets should be purchased aboard a regularly scheduled commercial carrier. The cost of the lowest available airfare should be obtained by the traveler at time of purchase. (1) There may be an instance when an employee may be able to obtain a better price than was quoted by Professional Travel. Prior to making a purchase from an alternate source, the traveler must call Professional Travel to review the lower quote and document all communications. (2) A department sending 10 or more people to the same destination must notify Professional Travel that they are traveling as a group in order to obtain additional discounts on their travel expenses and take advantage of the meeting/planning services available through Professional Travel. 4

5 b) Majority of air travel will be at the lowest available fare. Travelers may travel in business class as an exception or first class if business class service is not offered on the flight, both of which require Supplemental Approval and can occur only if: (1) the flight has a scheduled in air flying time at least six hours in duration (2) a documented medical condition c) Book airfare, hotel and ground transportation at the same time, whenever possible. d) Make reservations as far in advance as possible. e) Use an alternate airport when the savings is more than $250 and the alternate airport is no more than 100 miles from the travel destination. f) Be flexible with flight times. MH Travel Port will search for lower fares within a three-hour window of specified departure/arrival time. g) Route changes must be made through Professional Travel during normal business hours. After business hours, travelers must contact Professional Travels 24- hour emergency hotline. h) Notify Professional Travel immediately if trip is cancelled or ticket is lost. If a flight is cancelled obtain confirmation number for later use of airline credit. i) Participation in individual s mileage account must not influence flight selection beyond the lowest applicable airfare. j) If a Saturday night stay is a cost savings to MHS, the employee may take advantage of the savings by using the Saturday night stay airfare and be reimbursed for related expenses (such as hotel room, car rental, and food). Related expenses must not exceed the savings realized by the traveler s appropriate approver. The cost savings must be fully documented and attached to the expense report. 5

6 4. Car Rental a) Rental cars must be booked through MH Travel Port and will only be used when public or private transportation is not a practical cost-saving alternative, or lack of accommodations near a facility requires use of an automobile. b) Rental is limited to the least expensive vehicle that meets business needs. Allowance for a larger car class will be approved when three or more employees are traveling together. c) Charges for personal navigation systems in rental cars are not reimbursable. 5. Lodging a) All hotel reservations must be made through MH Travel Port. When making reservations, employees are directed to request a Government Rate (GSA) whenever available and economically feasible. For reservation purposes, MetroHealth is part of Cuyahoga County - State of Ohio Political Subdivision #29. If the hotel requires additional confirmation of the tax-exempt status, contact the Accounts Payable department for MetroHealth s official tax-exempt form. b) If Government Rates are not offered, travelers will be reimbursed at up to 175% of the listed Government Rate for the geographic area in which they are staying. c) In situations where a conference or meeting is being held in a location where no Government Rate is being offered at the time, conference rates or rack rates will be honored for that location. Appropriate documentation will be required for reimbursement. The 175% limit would not apply in cases when a rack rate is being paid. d) Lodging will only be reimbursed at locations greater than 45 miles from MetroHealth s main campus, or satellite locations. 6

7 6. Meals e) Cancellation fees and early checkout fees are not reimbursable. a) Personal meals, including appropriate tips will be reimbursed at GSA per diem rates based on geographic location. Receipts for individual personal meals are not required as the maximum reimbursed amount will be at GSA per diem rates. b) Meal reimbursement for the first and last day of travel will be 75% of the maximum reasonable rate (breakfast + lunch + dinner per diem based on geographic location). c) If meal charges are for other than the individual being reimbursed, then a record-keeping of the time, date, amount, business subject discussed, and names of individuals and organizational affiliation in attendance is required (). 7. Local Travel, Registrations and Other Expenses a) Local travel requests must also be authorized using the esawp form. b) Employees travelling for hospital business will be reimbursed for mileage at the current IRS rate when using their personal vehicle. c) Memberships, dues, registration and license fees should be submitted on a check request form with appropriate backup to Accounts Payable at least 30 days in advance of their due date. These expenses should not be paid directly by employees. VIII. ITEMIZATION AND SUPPORT OF REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES: A. Use of an Expense Report (see attachment B) is mandatory. Travel expenses must be supported with original receipts. B. Appropriate reviews will be made of the Expense Report form by the Accounting function prior to issuing reimbursement checks. 7

8 Policy infractions may require additional documentation or change in the requested reimbursable amount. IX. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT: A. Allowable Expenses: The following expenses, when supported by proper documentation (receipts, bills, evidence of payment), are reimbursable. 1. Reimbursable travel expenses include reasonable charges for airfare, meals, lodging, and transportation as indicated above. 2. Private Automobile a. Use of private automobile will be reimbursed at the mileage rate authorized by MHS and based on total mileage less the employee s normal commute to his/her base work location. b. When travel exceeds 250 miles and the traveler does not want to travel by plane, prior approval is required by the departmental vice president. Documentation of this approval must be included with the Special Assignment with Pay form. An allowance, not to exceed airfare, will be allowed for use of private automobiles in travel to and from designated places of MHS business. A quote from the System s approved travel agency is required. Mileage will be paid at the rate authorized by MHS. 3. Reimbursement for travel by rail shall be at actual rates but, shall not exceed airfare. A quote from the System s approved travel agency is required. 4. Garage and Parking charges for private vehicles will be allowed. 5. Tolls will be allowed where necessary, any toll greater than $5.00 requires receipt for reimbursement. 6. Taxi and car rental expenses for local transportation will be allowed where such transportation is necessary. 7. Miscellaneous/Other Reimbursable Expenses 8

9 a) Reasonable expenses for recruiting health care professionals. b) Required service charge (tip) added on by restaurant or actual voluntary gratuity (not to exceed twenty percent 20 %) of the actual meal expense. c) Minimal required expenses outside the control of the employee, such as: (1) Mandatory baggage fees assigned by the airline carrier are reimbursable, not to exceed two (2) bags each way. (2) Internet fees applied by the hotel are reimbursable. X. NONREIMBURSABLE EXPENSES/TRANSACTIONS: In accordance with public laws governing MHS and good business policy, the following expenses are not allowable for reimbursement unless Supplemental Approval has been obtained A. Purchase of personal items. C. Entertainment, unless such entertainment is necessary and reasonable to the active conduct of MHS business. For such business meals or entertainment, the following must be included on the Expense Report form: time, date, place, and amount, subject discussed, names of individuals in attendance, and when business was discussed. Record keeping can be done on the back of the credit card receipt. Social meals and goodwill discussions will not meet IRS tests. D. Expenses of the employee's family who may accompany the employee on the trip. E. Tips and gratuities in excess of twenty percent (20%). XI. VACATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH BUSINESS TRAVEL: A. Travel will only be paid when expenses are incurred at locations specific to the business purpose. Travel expenses to and from alternate vacation destinations while on business travel are not eligible for payment. 9

10 B. In cases where vacation time is added to a business trip, any cost variance in expenses such as airfare, car rental and/or lodging must be clearly identified and documented. This difference will not be reimbursed by MetroHealth. XII. ATTACHMENTS: A. Special Assignment With Pay Request B. Expense Report C. Check Request D. General Services Administration Per Diem Rates 10