- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
- HHS CFR Title 45, Part 74
- Uniform Administration Requirements
Requirements for Awards & Subawards to Institutions of
Higher Education, Hospitals, Other NonProfit Organizations, and
Commercial Organizations; and Certain Grants and Agreements with
States, Local Government and Indian Tribal Governments
Subpart A: General
Sect. 74.1 -- Purpose and applicability.
Sect. 74.2 -- Definitions.
Sect. 74.3 -- Effect on other issuances.
Sect. 74.4 -- Deviations.
Sect. 74.5 -- Subawards.
Subpart B: Pre-Award
Sect. 74.10 -- Purpose.
Sect. 74.11 -- Pre-award Policies.
Sect. 74.12 -- Forms for Applying for HHS Financial Assistance.
Sect. 74.13 -- Debarment and Suspension.
Sect. 74.14 -- Special Award Conditions.
Sect. 74.15 -- Metric System of Measurement.
Sect. 74.16 -- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA,
Section 6002 of P.L. 94-580 (Codified at 42 U.S.C. 6962))
Sect. 74.17 -- Certifications and Representations.
Subpart C: Post-Award Requirements
Financial and Program Management
Sect. 74.20 -- Purpose of financial and program management.
-- Standards for financial management systems.
Sect. 74.22 -- Payment.
Sect. 74.23 -- Cost sharing or matching.
Sect. 74.24 -- Program income.
Sect. 74.25 -- Revision of budget and program plans.
Sect. 74.26 -- Non-Federal audits.
Sect. 74.27 -- Allowable costs.
Sect. 74.28 -- Period of availability of funds.
Property Standards
Sect. 74.30 -- Purpose of property standards.
Sect. 74.31 -- Insurance coverage.
Sect. 74.32 -- Real property.
Sect. 74.33 -- Federally-owned and exempt property.
Sect. 74.34 -- Equipment.
Sect. 74.35 -- Supplies.
Sect. 74.36 -- Intangible property.
Sect. 74.37 -- Property trust relationship.
Procurement Standards
Sect. 74.40 -- Purpose of procurement standards.
Sect. 74.41 -- Recipient responsibilities.
Sect. 74.42 -- Codes of conduct.
Sect. 74.43 -- Competition.
Sect. 74.44 -- Procurement procedures.
Sect. 74.45 -- Cost and price analysis.
Sect. 74.46 -- Procurement records.
Sect. 74.47 -- Contract administration.
Sect. 74.48 -- Contract provisions.
Reports and Records
Sect. 74.50 -- Purpose of reports and records.
Sect. 74.51 -- Monitoring and reporting program performance.
Sect. 74.52 -- Financial reporting.
Sect. 74.53 -- Retention and access requirements for records.
Termination and Enforcement
Sect. 74.60 -- Purpose of termination and enforcement.
Sect. 74.61 -- Termination.
Sect. 74.62 -- Enforcement.
Subpart D: After the Award
Sect. 74.70 -- Purpose.
Sect. 74.71 -- Closeout procedures.
Sect. 74.72 -- Subsequent adjustments and continuing responsibilities.
Sect. 74.73 -- Collection of amounts due.
Subpart E: Special Provisions for Awards to Commercial Organizations
Sect. 74.80 -- Scope of the subpart.
Sect. 74-81 -- Prohibition against profit
Sect. 74-82 -- Program Income
Subpart F: Disputes
Sect. 74.90 -- Final decisions in disputes.
Sect. 74.91 -- Alternative dispute resolution.
Appendix A: Contract Provisions
Appendix B-D: [Reserved]
Appendix E: Hospital Cost Principles for R&D
Appendix F-H: [Reserved]
Source:
59 FR 43760, Aug. 25, 1994, unless otherwise noted.
Sect. 74.1 -- Purpose and applicability.
- Unless inconsistent with statutory requirements, this part
establishes uniform administrative requirements governing:
- Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) grants and
agreements awarded to institutions of higher education, hospitals,
other nonprofit organizations and commercial organizations;
- Subgrants or other subawards awarded by recipients of HHS
grants and agreements to institutions of higher education, hospitals,
other nonprofit organizations and commercial organizations, including
subgrants or other subawards awarded under HHS grants and agreements
administered by State, local and Indian Tribal governments; and
- HHS grants and agreements, and any subawards under such grants
and agreements, awarded to carry out the entitlement programs
identified at 45 CFR part 92, 92.4(a)(3), (a)(7), and (a)(8),
except that 74.12 and 74.25 of this Part shall not apply.
- Nonprofit organizations that implement HHS programs for the
States are also subject to state requirements.
- HHS shall not impose additional or inconsistent requirements except as provided in section 74.4 and 74.14, or unless specifically required by Federal statute or executive order.
Sect. 74.2 -- Definitions.
Accrued expenditures mean the charges incurred by the recipient
during a given period requiring the provision of funds for: (1)
Goods and other tangible property received; (2) services performed
by employees, contractors, subrecipients, and other payees; and,
(3) other amounts becoming owed under programs for which no current
services or performance is required.
Accrued income means the sum of: (1) Earnings during a given period
from (i) services performed by the recipient, and (ii) goods and
other tangible property delivered to purchasers; and (2) amounts
becoming owed to the recipient for which no current services or
performance is required by the recipient.
Acquisition cost of equipment means the net invoice price of the
equipment, including the cost of modifications, attachments, accessories,
or auxiliary apparatus necessary to make the property usable for
the purpose for which it was acquired. Other charges, such as
the cost of installation, transportation, taxes, duty or protective
in-transit insurance, shall be included or excluded from the unit
acquisition cost in accordance with the recipient's regular accounting
practices.
Advance means a payment made by Treasury check or other appropriate
payment mechanism to a recipient upon its request either before
outlays are made by the recipient or through the use of predetermined
payment schedules.
Award means financial assistance that provides support or stimulation
to accomplish a public purpose. Awards include grants and other
agreements in the form of money or property in lieu of money,
by the Federal Government to an eligible recipient. The term does
not include: technical assistance, which provides services instead
of money; other assistance in the form of loans, loan guarantees,
interest subsidies, or insurance; direct payments of any kind
to individuals; and, contracts which are required to be entered
into and administered under Federal procurement laws and regulations.
Cash contributions mean the recipient's cash outlay, including
the outlay of money contributed to the recipient by third parties.
Closeout means the process by which the HHS awarding agency determines
that all applicable administrative actions and all required work
of the award have been completed by the recipient and HHS.
Contract means a procurement contract under an award or subaward,
and a procurement subcontract under a recipient's or subrecipient's
contract.
Cost sharing or matching means that portion of project or program
costs not borne by the Federal Government.
Current accounting period means, with respect to 74.27(b), the
period of time the recipient chooses for purposes of financial
statements and audits.
Date of completion means the date on which all work under an award
is completed or the date on the award document, or any supplement
or amendment thereto, on which HHS awarding agency sponsorship
ends.
Departmental Appeals Board means the independent office established
in the Office of the Secretary with delegated authority from the
Secretary to review and decide certain disputes between recipients
of HHS funds and HHS awarding agencies under 45 CFR part 16 and
to perform other review, adjudication and mediation services as
assigned.
Disallowed costs mean those charges to an award that the HHS awarding
agency determines to be unallowable, in accordance with the applicable
Federal cost principles or other terms and conditions contained
in the award.
Discretionary award means an award made by an HHS awarding agency
in keeping with specific statutory authority which enables the
agency to exercise judgment ("discretion") in selecting
the applicant/recipient organization through a competitive award
process.
Equipment means tangible nonexpendable personal property, including
exempt property, charged directly to the award having a useful
life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5000 or
more per unit. However, consistent with recipient policy, lower
limits may be established.
Excess property means property under the control of any HHS awarding
agency that, as determined by the head of the awarding agency
or his/her delegate, is no longer required for the agency's needs
or the discharge of its responsibilities.
Exempt property means tangible personal property acquired in whole
or in part with Federal funds, where the HHS awarding agency has
statutory authority to vest title in the recipient without further
obligation to the Federal Government. An example of exempt property
authority is contained in the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement
Act, 31 U.S.C. 6306, for property acquired under an award to conduct
basic or applied research by a nonprofit institution of higher
education or nonprofit organization whose principal purpose is
conducting scientific research.
Federal funds authorized mean the total amount of Federal funds
obligated by the HHS awarding agency for use by the recipient.
This amount may include any authorized carryover of unobligated
funds from prior funding periods when permitted by the HHS awarding
agency's implementing instructions or authorized by the terms
and conditions of the award.
Federal share of real property, equipment, or supplies means that
percentage of the property's or supplies' acquisition costs and
any improvement expenditures paid with Federal funds. This will
be the same percentage as the Federal share of the total costs
under the award for the funding period in which the property was
acquired (excluding the value of third party in-kind contributions).
Federally recognized Indian Tribal government means the governing
body of any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group
or community (including any Native village as defined in section
3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act certified by the
Secretary of the Interior as eligible for the special programs
and services provided by him through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Funding period means the period of time when Federal funding is
available for obligation by the recipient.
Government means a State or local government or a federally recognized
Indian tribal government.
HHS means the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
HHS awarding agency means any organization component of HHS that
is authorized to make and administer awards.
Intangible property and debt instruments mean, but are not limited
to, trademarks, copyrights, patents and patent applications and
such property as loans, notes and other debt instruments, lease
agreements, stock and other instruments of property ownership,
whether considered tangible or intangible.
Local government means a local unit of government, including specifically
a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority,
school district, special district, intra-state district, council
of governments (whether or not incorporated as a nonprofit corporation
under State law), any other regional or interstate entity, or
any agency or instrumentality of local government.
Obligations mean the amounts of orders placed, contracts and grants
awarded, services received and similar transactions during a given
period that require payment by the recipient during the same or
a future period.
OGAM means the Office of Grants and Acquisition Management, which
is an organizational component within the Office of the Secretary,
HHS, and reports to the Assistant Secretary for Management and
Budget.
OMB means the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
Outlays or expenditures mean charges made to the project or program.
They may be reported on a cash or accrual basis. For reports prepared
on a cash basis, outlays are the sum of cash disbursements for
direct charges for goods and services, the amount of indirect
expense charged, the value of third party in-kind contributions
applied and the amount of cash advances and payments made to subrecipients.
For reports prepared on an accrual basis, outlays are the sum
of cash disbursements for direct charges for goods and services,
the amount of indirect expense incurred, the value of in-kind
contributions applied, and the net increase (or decrease) in the
amounts owed by the recipient for goods and other property received,
for services performed by employees, contractors, subrecipients
and other payees and other amounts becoming owed under programs
for which no current services or performance are required.
Personal property means property of any kind except real property.
It may be tangible, having physical existence, or intangible,
having no physical existence, such as copyrights, patents, or
securities.
Prior approval means written approval by an authorized HHS official
evidencing prior consent.
Program income means gross income earned by the recipient that
is directly generated by a supported activity or earned as a result
of the award (see exclusions in 74.24 (e) and (h)). Program income
includes, but is not limited to, income from fees for services
performed, the use or rental of real or personal property acquired
under federally-funded projects, the sale of commodities or items
fabricated under an award, license fees and royalties on patents
and copyrights, and interest on loans made with award funds. Interest
earned on advances of Federal funds is not program income. Except
as otherwise provided in the terms and conditions of the award,
program income does not include the receipt of principal on loans,
rebates, credits, discounts, etc., or interest earned on any of
them. Furthermore, program income does not include taxes, special assessments, levies, and fines raised by governmental recipients.
Project costs means all allowable costs, as set forth in the applicable
Federal cost principles (see 74.27), incurred by a recipient and
the value of the contributions made by third parties in accomplishing
the objectives of the award during the project period.
Project period means the period established in the award document
during which HHS awarding agency sponsorship begins and ends.
Property means, unless otherwise stated, real property, equipment,
intangible property and debt instruments.
Real property means land, including land improvements, structures
and appurtenances thereto, but excludes movable machinery and
equipment.
Recipient means an organization receiving financial assistance
directly from an HHS awarding agency to carry out a project or
program. The term includes public and private institutions of
higher education, public and private hospitals, commercial organizations,
and other quasi-public and private nonprofit organizations such
as, but not limited to, community action agencies, research institutes,
educational associations, and health centers. The term may include
foreign or international organizations (such as agencies of the
United Nations) which are recipients, subrecipients, or contractors
or subcontractors of recipients or subrecipients at the discretion
of the HHS awarding agency. The term does not include government-owned
contractor-operated facilities or research centers providing continued
support for mission-oriented, large-scale programs that are government-owned
or controlled, or are designated as federally-funded research
and development centers. For entitlement programs listed at 45
CFR 92.4(a)(3), (a)(7), and (a)(8) "recipient" means
the government to which an HHS awarding agency awards funds and
which is accountable for the use of the funds provided. The recipient
in this case is the entire legal entity even if only a particular
component of the entity is designated in the award document.
Research and development means all research activities, both basic
and applied, and all development activities that are supported
at universities, colleges, hospitals, other nonprofit institutions,
and commercial organizations. "Research" is defined
as a systematic study directed toward fuller scientific knowledge
or understanding of the subject studied. "Development"
is the systematic use of knowledge and understanding gained from
research directed toward the production of useful materials, devices,
systems, or methods, including design and development of prototypes
and processes. The term research also includes activities involving
the training of individuals in research techniques where such
activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development
activities and where such activities are not included in the instruction
function.
Small awards means a grant or cooperative agreement not exceeding
the simplified acquisition threshold fixed at 41 U.S.C.403(11)(currently $100,000).
State means any of the several States of the United States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory
or possession of the United States, or any agency or instrumentality
of a State exclusive of local governments.
Subaward means an award of financial assistance in the form of
money, or property in lieu of money, made under an award by a
recipient to an eligible subrecipient or by a subrecipient to
a lower tier subrecipient. The term includes financial assistance
when provided by any legal agreement, even if the agreement is
called a contract, but does not include procurement of goods and
services nor does it include any form of assistance which is excluded
from the definition of "award" in this section.
Subrecipient means the legal entity to which a subaward is made
and which is accountable to the recipient for the use of the funds
provided. The term may include foreign or international organizations
(such as agencies of the United Nations) at the discretion of
the HHS awarding agency.
Supplies means all personal property excluding equipment, intangible
property, and debt instruments as defined in this section, and
inventions of a contractor conceived or first actually reduced
to practice in the performance of work under a funding agreement
("subject inventions"), as defined in 37 CFR part 401,
"Rights to Inventions Made by Nonprofit Organizations and
Business Firms Under Government Grants, Contracts, and Cooperative
Agreements."
Suspension means an action by the HHS awarding agency that temporarily
withdraws the agency's financial assistance sponsorship under
an award, pending corrective action by the recipient or pending
a decision to terminate the award.
Suspension of an award is a separate action from suspension under
HHS regulations (45 CFR part 76) implementing E.O.s 12549 and
12689, "Debarment and Suspension."
Termination means the cancellation of HHS awarding agency sponsorship,
in whole or in part, under an agreement at any time prior to the
date of completion. For the entitlement programs listed at 45
CFR 92.4 (a)(3), (a)(7), and (a)(8), "termination" shall
have that meaning assigned at 45 CFR 92.3.
Third party in-kind contributions means the value of non-cash
contributions provided by non-Federal third parties. Third party
in-kind contributions may be in the form of real property, equipment,
supplies and other expendable property, and the value of goods
and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable
to the project or program.
Unliquidated obligations, for financial reports prepared on a
cash basis, mean the amount of obligations incurred by the recipient
that has not been paid. For reports prepared on an accrued expenditure
basis, they represent the amount of obligations incurred by the
recipient for which an outlay has not been recorded.
Unobligated balance means the portion of the funds authorized
by the HHS awarding agency that has not been obligated by the
recipient and is determined by deducting the cumulative obligations
from the cumulative funds authorized.
Unrecovered indirect cost means the difference between the amount
awarded and the amount which could have been awarded under the
recipient's approved negotiated indirect cost rate.
Working capital advance means a procedure whereby funds are advanced
to the recipient to cover its estimated disbursement needs for
a given initial period.
Sect. 74.3 -- Effect on other issuances.
This part supersedes all administrative requirements of codified
program regulations, program manuals, handbooks and other nonregulatory
materials which are inconsistent with the requirements of this
part, except to the extent they are required by Federal statute, or authorized
in accordance with the deviations provision in 74.4.
Sect. 74.4 -- Deviations.
- After consultation with OMB, the HHS OGAM may grant exceptions
to HHS awarding agencies for classes of awards or recipients subject
to the requirements of this part when exceptions are not prohibited
by statute. However, in the interest of maximum uniformity, exceptions
from the requirements of this part shall be permitted only in
unusual circumstances. HHS awarding agencies may apply more restrictive
requirements to a class of awards or recipients when approved
by the OGAM, after consultation with the OMB. HHS awarding agencies
may apply less restrictive requirements without approval by the
OGAM when making small awards except for those requirements which
are statutory. Exceptions on a case-by-case basis may also be
made by HHS awarding agencies without seeking prior approval from
the OGAM. OGAM will maintain a record of all requests for exceptions
from the provisions of this part that have been approved for classes
of awards or recipients.
- As a matter of Departmental policy, requests for individual case deviations will be considered favorably by HHS and its awarding agencies whenever the deviation will facilitate comprehensive or integrated service delivery, or multiple-source consolidated awards unless the deviation would impair the integrity of the program.
Sect. 74.5 -- Subawards.
- Unless inconsistent with statutory requirements, this part (except for sect. 74.12 and the forms persribed in sect.74.22)
shall apply to --
- Except for subawards under block grants (45 CFR part 96),all subawards received by institutions of higher education,
hospitals, other non-profit organizations, and commercial organizations
from any recipient of an HHS award, including any subawards received
from States, and local Indian Tribal governments; and
- All subawards received from States by any entity, including
a government entity, under the entitlement programs identified
at 45 CFR part 92, 92.4 (a), (a)(7), and (a)(8), except that 74.12
and 74.25 of this part shall not apply.
- Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, when
State, local, and Indian Tribal government recipients of HHS awards
make subawards to a government entity, they shall apply the regulations
at 45 CFR part 92, "Uniform Administrative Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments,"
or State rules, whichever apply, to such awards.
Sect. 74.10 -- Purpose.
Sections 74.11 through 74.17 prescribe forms and instructions
and other pre-award matters to be used in applying for HHS awards.
Sect. 74.11 -- Pre-Award Policies
- Use of Grants and Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts. The
Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act, 31 U.S.C. 6301 -
08, governs the use of grants, cooperative agreements and contracts.
A grant of cooperative agreement shall be used only when the principal
purpose of a transaction is to accomplish a public purpose of
support or stimulation authorized by Federal statue. The statutory
criterion for choosing between grants and cooperative agreements
is that for the latter, ;substantial involvement is expected
between the executive agency and the State, local government,
or other recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated
in the agreement. Contracts shall be used when the principal
purpose is acquisition of property or service for the direct benefit
or use of the HHS awarding agency.
- HHS awarding agencies shall notify the public of funding priorities
for discretionary grant programs, unless funding priorities are
established by Federal statute.
Sect. 74.12 -- Forms for Applying for HHS Financial Assistance.
- HHS awarding agencies shall comply with the applicable report
clearance requirements of 5 CFR part 1320, Controlling Paperwork
Burdens on the Public with regard to all forms used in place of
or as a supplement to the Standard Form 424 (SF - 424) series.
However, HHS awarding agencies should use the SF - 424 series
and its program narrative whenever possible.
- Applicants shall use the SF - 424 series or those forms and
instructions prescribed by the HHS awarding agency. Applicants
shall submit the oroginal and two copies of any applications unless
additional copies are required pursuant to 5 CFR part 1320.
- For Federal programs covered by E.O. 12372, as amended by
E.O. 12416, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs
the applicant shall complete the appropriate sections of the SF
- 424 (Application for Federal Assistance) indicating whether
the application was subject to review by the State Single Point
of Contact (SPOC). The name and address of a particular
State can be obtained from the HHS awarding agency or the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance. the SPOC shall advise the applicant
whether the program for which application is made has been selected
by that State for review. (See also 45 CFR part 100.)
- HHS awarding agencies that do not use the SF - 424 form will
indicate on the application form they prescribe whether the application
is subject to review by the State under E.O. 12372.
- This section does not apply to applications for subawards.
Sect. 74.13 -- Debarment and Suspension
Recipients are subject to the nonprocurement debarment and suspension
common rule implementing E.O.'s 12549 and 12689, Debarment
and Suspension 45 CFR part 76. This common rule restricts
subawards and contracts with certain parties that are debarred,
suspended or otherwise excluded fro mor ineligible for participation
in Federal assistance programs or activities.
Sect. 74.14 -- Special Award Conditions
- The HHS awarding agency may impose additional requirements
as needed, without regard to 74.4, above, if an applicant or recipient:
- Has a history of poor performance;
- Is not financially stable;
- Has a management system that does not meet the standards prescribed
in this part;
- Has not conformed to the terms and conditions of a previous
award; or
- Is not otherwise responsible.
- When it imposes any additional requirements, the HHS awarding
agency must notify the recipient in writing as to the following:
- The nature of the additional requirements;
- The reason why the additional requirements are being imposed;
- The nature of the corrective actions needed;
- The time allowed for completing the corrective actions;
- The method for requesting reconsideration of the additional
requirements imposed.
Sect. 74.15 -- Metric system of measurement
The Metric Conversion Act, as amended by the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act, 15 U.S.C. 205, declares that the metric system
is the preferred measurement system for U.S. trade and commerce.
The Act requires each Federal agency to establish a date or dates
in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, when the metric
system of measurement will be used in the agency's procurements,
grants, and other business-related activities. Metric implementation
may take longer where the use of the system is initially impractical
or likely to cause significant inefficiencies in the accomplishment
of federally-funded activities. HHS awarding agencies will follow
the provisions of E.O. 12770, ;Metric Usage in Federal Government
Programs.;
Sect. 74.16 -- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Section
6002 of Public Law 94 - 580 (codified at 42 U.S.C. 6962).
Under the Act, any State agency or agency of a political subdivision
of a State which is using appropriated Federal funds must comply
with section 6002 of the RCRA. This section requires that preference
be given in procurement programs to the purchase of specific products
containing recycled materials identified in guidelines developed
by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (40 CFR parts 247
- 254). Accordingly, State and local institutions of higher education,
hospitals, and other nonprofit organizations that receive direct
HHS awards or other Federal funds shall give preference in their
procurement programs funded with Federal funds to the purchase
of recycled products pursuant to the EPA guidelines.
Sect. 74.17 -- Certifications and Representations.
Unless prohibited by statute or codified regulation, each HHS
awarding agency is authorized and encouraged to allow recipients
to submit certifications and representations required by stature,
executive order, or regulation on an annual basis, if the recipients
have ongoing and continuing relationships with the HHS awarding
agency. Annual certifications and representations shall be signed
by the responsible official(s) with the authority to ensure
recipients' compliance with the pertinent requirements.
Financial and Program Management
Sect. 74.20 -- Purpose of financial and program management.
Sections 74.21 through 74.28 prescribe standards for financial
management systems, methods for making payments, and rules for
satisfying cost sharing and matching requirements, accounting
for program income, budget revision approvals, making audits,
determining allowability of cost, and establishing fund availability.
Sect. 74.21 -- Standards for financial management systems.
- Recipients shall relate financial data to performance data
and develop unit cost information whenever practical. For awards
that support research, unit cost information is usually not appropriate.
- Recipients' financial management systems shall provide for
the following:
- Accurate, current and complete disclosure of the financial
results of each HHS-sponsored project or program in accordance
with the reporting requirements set forth in 74.52. If the HHS
awarding agency requires reporting on an accrual basis from a
recipient that maintains its records on other than an accrual
basis, the recipient shall not be required to establish an accrual
accounting system. These recipients may develop such accrual data
for their reports on the basis of an analysis of the documentation
on hand.
- Records that identify adequately the source and application
of funds for HHS-sponsored activities. These records shall contain
information pertaining to Federal awards, authorizations, obligations,
unobligated balances, assets, outlays, income and interest.
- Effective control over and accountability for all funds, property
and other assets. Recipients shall adequately safeguard all such
assets and assure they are used solely for authorized purposes.
- Comparison of outlays with budget amounts for each award.
Whenever appropriate, financial information should be related
to performance and unit cost data. (Unit cost data are usually
not appropriate for awards that support research.)
- Written procedures to minimize the time elapsing between the
transfer of funds to the recipient from the U.S. Treasury and
the issuance or redemption of checks, warrants or payments by
other means for program purposes by the recipient. To the extent
that the provisions of the Cash Management Improvement Act (CMIA)
(Pub. L. 101 - 453) and its implementing regulations, "Rules
and Procedures for Funds Transfers," (31 CFR part 205) apply,
payment methods of State agencies, instrumentalities, and fiscal
agents shall be consistent with CMIA Treasury-State Agreements,
or the CMIA default procedures codified at 31 CFR 205.9(f).
- Written procedures for determining the reasonableness, allocability
and allowability of costs in accordance with the provisions of
the applicable Federal cost principles and the terms and conditions
of the award.
- Accounting records, including cost accounting records, that
are supported by source documentation.
- Where the Federal Government guarantees or insures the repayment
of money borrowed by the recipient, the HHS awarding agency, at
its discretion, may require adequate bonding and insurance if
the bonding and insurance requirements of the recipient are not
deemed adequate to protect the interest of the Federal Government.
- The HHS awarding agency may require adequate fidelity bond
coverage where the recipient lacks sufficient coverage to protect
the Federal Government's interest.
- Where bonds are required in the situations described in 74.21
(c) and (d), the bonds shall be obtained from companies holding
certificates of authority as acceptable sureties, as prescribed
in 31 CFR part 223, "Surety Companies Doing Business with
the United States."
Sect. 74.22 -- Payment.
- Unless inconsistent with statutory program purposes, payment
methods shall minimize the time elapsing between the transfer
of funds from the U.S. Treasury and the issuance or redemption
of checks, warrants, or payment by other means by the recipients.
Payment methods of State agencies or instrumentalities shall be
consistent with Treasury-State CMIA agreements, or the CMIA default
procedures codified at 31 CFR 205.9, to the extent that either
applies.
- Recipients will be paid in advance, provided they maintain
or demonstrate the willingness to maintain:
- Written procedures that minimize the time elapsing between
the transfer of funds and disbursement by the recipient; and
- Financial management systems that meet the standards for fund
control and accountability as established in 74.21.
- Unless inconsistent with statutory program purposes, cash
advances to a recipient organization shall be limited to the minimum
amounts needed and be timed to be in accordance with the actual,
immediate cash requirements of the recipient organization in carrying
out the purpose of the approved program or project. The timing
and amount of cash advances shall be as close as is administratively
feasible to the actual disbursements by the recipient organization
for direct program or project costs and the proportionate share
of any allowable indirect costs.
- Whenever possible, advances will be consolidated to cover
anticipated cash needs for all awards made by all HHS awarding
agencies to the recipient.
- Advance payment mechanisms include electronic funds transfer,
with Treasury checks available on an exception basis.
- Advance payment mechanisms are subject to 31 CFR part 205.
- Recipients may submit requests for advances and reimbursements
at least monthly when electronic fund transfers are not used.
- Requests for Treasury check advance payment shall be submitted
on PMS - 270, "Request for Advance or Reimbursement,"
or other forms as may be authorized by HHS. This form is not to
be used when Treasury check advance payments are made to the recipient
automatically through the use of a predetermined payment schedule
or if precluded by special HHS-wide instructions for electronic
funds transfer.
- Reimbursement is the preferred method when the requirements
in paragraph (b) of this section cannot be met. The HHS awarding
agency may also use this method on any construction agreement,
or if the major portion of the construction project is accomplished
through private market financing or Federal loans, and the HHS
assistance constitutes a minor portion of the project.
- When the reimbursement method is used, HHS will make payment
within 30 days after receipt of the billing, unless the billing
is improper.
- Recipients may submit a request for reimbursement at least
monthly when electronic funds transfers are not used.
- If a recipient cannot meet the criteria for advance payments
and the HHS awarding agency has determined that reimbursement
is not feasible because the recipient lacks sufficient working
capital, HHS may provide cash on a working capital advance basis.
Under this procedure, HHS advances cash to the recipient to cover
its estimated disbursement needs for an initial period generally
geared to the recipient's disbursing cycle. Thereafter, HHS reimburses
the recipient for its actual cash disbursements. The working capital
advance method of payment will not be used for recipients unwilling
or unable to provide timely advances to their subrecipient to
meet the subrecipient's actual cash disbursements.
- Unless inconsistent with statutory program purposes, to the
extent available, recipients shall disburse funds available from
repayments to and interest earned on a revolving fund, program
income, rebates, refunds, contract settlements, audit recoveries
and interest earned on such funds before requesting additional
cash payments.
- Unless otherwise required by statute, the HHS awarding agency
will not withhold payments for proper charges made by recipients
at any time during the project period unless paragraph (h) (1)
or (2) of this section applies:
- A recipient has failed to comply with the project objectives,
the terms and conditions of the award, or HHS awarding agency
reporting requirements.
- The recipient or subrecipient is delinquent in a debt to the
United States. Under such conditions, the HHS awarding agency
may, upon reasonable notice, inform the recipient that payments
shall not be made for obligations incurred after a specified date
until the conditions are corrected or the indebtedness to the
Federal Government is liquidated. (See 45 CFR part 30).
- Standards governing the use of banks and other institutions
as depositories of funds advanced under awards are as follows.
- Except for situations described in paragraph (i)(2) of this
section, HHS will not require separate depository accounts for
funds provided to a recipient or establish any eligibility requirements
for depositories for funds provided to a recipient. However, recipients
must be able to account for the receipt, obligation and expenditure
of funds.
- Advances of Federal funds shall be deposited and maintained
in insured accounts whenever possible.
- Consistent with the national goal of expanding the opportunities
for women-owned and minority-owned business enterprises, recipients
are encouraged to use women-owned and minority-owned banks (a
bank which is owned at least 50 percent by women or minority group
members).
- Recipients shall maintain advances of Federal funds in interest
bearing accounts, unless one of the following conditions apply:
- The recipient receives less than $120,000 in Federal awards
per year.
- The best reasonably available interest bearing account would
not be expected to earn interest in excess of $250 per year on
Federal cash balances.
- The depository would require an average or minimum balance
so high that it would not be feasible within the expected Federal
and non-Federal cash resources.
- For those entities where CMIA and its implementing regulations
do not apply (see 31 CFR part 205), interest earned on Federal
advances deposited in interest bearing accounts shall be remitted
annually to the Department of Health and Human Services, Payment
Management System, P.O. Box 6021, Rockville, MD 20852. Recipients
with Electronic Funds Transfer capability should use an electronic
medium such as the FEDWIRE Deposit System. Interest amounts up
to $250 per year may be retained by the recipient for administrative
expense. State universities and hospitals shall comply with CMIA,
as it pertains to interest. If an entity subject to CMIA uses
its own funds to pay pre-award costs for discretionary awards
without prior written approval from the HHS awarding agency, it
waives its right to recover the interest under CMIA. (See 74.25(d)).
- PMS - 270, Request for Advance or Reimbursement. Recipients
shall use the PMS - 270 to request advances or reimbursement for
all programs when electronic funds transfer or predetermined advance
methods are not used.
- HHS shall not require recipients to submit more than an original and two copies.
- Recipients and subrecipients are not required to use forms PMS-270 and 272 in connection with subaward payments.
Sect. 74.23 -- Cost sharing or matching.
- To be accepted, all cost sharing or matching contributions,
including cash and third party in-kind, shall meet all of the
following criteria:
- Are verifiable from the recipient's records;
- Are not included as contributions for any other federally-assisted
project or program;
- Are necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment
of project or program objectives;
- Are allowable under the applicable cost principles;
- Are
not paid by the Federal Government under another award, except
where authorized by Federal statute to be used for cost sharing
or matching;
- Are provided for in the approved budget; and
- Conform to other provisions of this part, as applicable.
- Unrecovered indirect costs may be included as part of cost
sharing or matching.
- Values for recipient contributions of services and property
shall be established in accordance with the applicable cost principles.
If the HHS awarding agency authorizes recipients to donate buildings
or land for construction/facilities acquisition projects or long-term
use, the value of the donated property for cost sharing or matching
shall be the lesser of:
- The certified value of the remaining life of the property
recorded in the recipient's accounting records at the time of
donation; or
- The current fair market value. However, when there is sufficient
justification, the HHS awarding agency may approve the use of
the current fair market value of the donated property, even if
it exceeds the certified value at the time of donation to the
project.
- Volunteer services furnished by professional and technical
personnel, consultants, and other skilled and unskilled labor
may be counted as cost sharing or matching if the service is an
integral and necessary part of an approved project or program.
Rates for volunteer services shall be consistent with those paid
for similar work in the recipient's organization. In those instances
in which the required skills are not found in the recipient's
organization, rates shall be consistent with those paid for similar
work in the labor market in which the recipient competes for the
kind of services involved. In either case, fringe benefits consistent with those paid
that are reasonable, allowable, and allocable may be included
in the valuation.
- When an employer other than the recipient furnishes the services
of an employee, these services shall be valued at the employee's
regular rate of pay (plus an amount of fringe benefits that are
reasonable, allowable, and allocable, but exclusive of overhead
costs), provided these services are in the same skill for which
the employee is normally paid.
- Donated supplies may include such items as expendable property,
office supplies, laboratory supplies or workshop and classroom
supplies. Value assessed to donated supplies included in the cost
sharing or matching share shall be reasonable and shall not exceed
the fair market value of the property at the time of the donation.
- The method used for determining cost sharing or matching for
donated equipment, buildings and land for which title passes to
the recipient may differ according to the purpose of the award,
if paragraph (g)(1) or (2) of this section applies:
- If the purpose of the award is to assist the recipient in
the acquisition of equipment, buildings or land, the total value
of the donated property may be claimed as cost sharing or matching.
- If the purpose of the award is to support activities that
require the use of equipment, buildings or land, normally only
depreciation or use charges for equipment and buildings may be
made. However, the full value of equipment or other capital assets
and fair rental charges for land may be allowed, provided that
the HHS awarding agency has approved the charges.
- The value of donated property shall be determined in accordance
with the usual accounting policies of the recipient, with the
following qualifications.
- The value of donated land and buildings shall not exceed its
fair market value at the time of donation to the recipient as
established by an independent appraiser (e.g., certified real
property appraiser or General Services Administration representative)
and certified by a responsible official of the recipient.
- The value of donated equipment shall not exceed the fair market
value of equipment of the same age and condition at the time of
donation.
- The value of donated space shall not exceed the fair rental
value of comparable space as established by an independent appraisal
of comparable space and facilities in a privately-owned building
in the same locality.
- The value of loaned equipment shall not exceed its fair rental
value.
- The following requirements pertain to the recipient's supporting
records for in-kind contributions from third parties.
- Volunteer services shall be documented and, to the extent
feasible, supported by the same methods used by the recipient
for its own employees, including time records.
- The basis for determining the valuation for personal service,
material, equipment, buildings and land shall be documented.
Sect. 74.24 -- Program income.
- standards set forth in this section shall be used to account
for program income related to projects financed in whole or in
part with Federal funds.
- Except as provided below in paragraph (h) of this section,
program income earned during the project period shall be retained
by the recipient and, in accordance with the terms and conditions
of the award, shall be used in one or more of the following ways:
- Added to funds committed to the project or program, and used
to further eligible project or program objectives;
- Used to finance the non-Federal share of the project or program;
or
- Deducted from the total project or program allowable cost
in determining the net allowable costs on which the Federal share
of costs is based.
- When the HHS awarding agency authorizes the disposition of
program income as described in paragraph (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this
section, program income in excess of any limits stipulated shall
be used in accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of this section.
- In the event that the HHS awarding agency does not specify
in the terms and conditions of the award how program income is
to be used, paragraph (b)(3) of this section shall apply automatically
to all projects or programs except research. For awards that support
performance of research work, paragraph (b)(1) of this section
shall apply automatically unless:
- The HHS awarding agency indicates in the terms and conditions
of the award another alternative; or
- The recipient is subject to special award conditions under
74.14; or
- The recipient is a commercial organization (see 74.82).
- Unless the terms and conditions of the award provide otherwise,
recipients shall have no obligation to the Federal Government
regarding program income earned after the end of the project period.
- Costs incident to the generation of program income may be
deducted from gross income to determine program income, provided
these costs have not been charged to the award.
- Proceeds from the sale of property shall be handled in accordance
with the requirements of the Property Standards. (See 74.30 through
74.37, below).
- The Patent and Trademark Laws Amendments, 35 U.S.C. section
200 - 212, apply to inventions made under an award for performance
of experimental, developmental, or research work. Unless the terms
and conditions for the award provide otherwise, recipients shall
have no obligation to HHS with respect to program income earned
from license fees and royalties for copyrighted material, patents,
patent applications, trademarks, and inventions made under an
award. However, no scholarship, fellowship, training grant, or
other funding agreement made primarily to a recipient for educational
purposes will contain any provision giving the Federal agency
rights to inventions made by the recipient.
Sect. 74.25 -- Revision of budget and program plans.
- The budget plan is the financial expression of the project
or program as approved during the award process. It may include
either the sum of the Federal and non-Federal shares, or only
the Federal share, depending upon HHS awarding agency requirements.
It shall be related to performance for program evaluation purposes
whenever appropriate.
- Recipients are required to report deviations from budget and
program plans, and request prior approvals for budget and program
plan revisions, in accordance with this section. Except as provided
at 74.4, 74.14, and this section, HHS awarding agencies may not
impose other prior approval requirements for specific items.
- For nonconstruction awards, recipients shall obtain prior
approvals from the HHS awarding agency for one or more of the
following program or budget related reasons.
- No other prior approval requirements for specific items may be imposed unless a class deviation has been approved by OMB.
- Change in the project director or principal investigator or
other key persons specified in the application or award document.
- The absence for more than three months, or a 25 percent reduction
in time devoted to the project, by the approved project director
or principal investigator.
- The need for additional Federal funding.
- The inclusion, unless waived by the HHS awarding agency, of
costs that require prior approval in accordance with OMB Circular
A - 21, "Cost Principles for Educational Institutions;"
OMB Circular A - 122, "Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations;"
or appendix E of this part, "Principles for Determining Costs
Applicable to Research and Development under Grants and Contracts
with Hospitals," or 48 CFR part 31, "Contract Cost Principles
and Procedures," as applicable.
- The transfer of funds allotted for training allowances (direct
payment to trainees) to other categories of expense.
- Unless described in the application and funded in the approved
award, the subaward, transfer or contracting out of any work under
an award. This provision does not apply to the purchase of supplies,
material, equipment or general support services.
- The inclusion of research patient care costs in research awards
made for the performance of research work.
- Except for requirements listed in paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(4)
of this section, the HHS awarding agency is authorized, at its
option, to waive cost-related and administrative prior written
approvals required by this part and its appendixes. Additional
waivers may be granted authorizing recipients to do any one or
more of the following:
- Incur pre-award costs up to 90 calendar days prior to award,
or more than 90 calendar days with the prior approval of the HHS
awarding agency. However, all pre-award costs are incurred at
the recipient's risk: the HHS awarding agency is under no obligation
to reimburse such costs if for any reason the applicant does not
receive an award or if the award to the recipient is less than
anticipated and inadequate to cover such costs.
- Initiate a one-time extension of the expiration date of the
award of up to 12 months unless one or more of the conditions
identified at paragraphs (d)(2)(i), (ii), and (iii) of this section
apply. For one-time extensions, the recipient must notify the
HHS awarding agency in writing, with the supporting reasons and
revised expiration date, at least 10 days before the date specified
in the award. This one-time extension may not be exercised either
by recipients or HHS awarding agencies merely for the purpose
of using unobligated balances. Such extensions are not permitted
where:
- The terms and conditions of award prohibit the extension;
or
- The extension requires additional Federal funds; or
- The extension involves any change in the approved objectives
or scope of the project.
- Carry forward unobligated balances to subsequent funding periods.
- For awards that support performance of research work, unless
the HHS awarding agency provides otherwise in the award, or the
award is subject to 74.14 or subpart E of this Part, the prior
approval requirements described in paragraphs (d) (1) - (3) of
this section are automatically waived (i.e., recipients need not
obtain such prior approvals). However, extension of award expiration
dates must be approved by the HHS awarding agency if one of the
conditions in paragraph (d)(2) of this section applies.
- The HHS awarding agencies may not permit any budget changes
in a recipient's award that would cause any Federal appropriation
to be used for purposes other then those consistent with the original
purpose of the authorization and appropriation under which the
award was funded.
- For construction awards, recipients shall obtain prior written
approval promptly from the HHS awarding agency for budget revisions
whenever:
- The revision results from changes in the scope or the objective
of the project or program;
- The need arises for additional Federal funds to complete the
project; or
- A revision is desired which involves specific costs for which
prior written approval requirements apply in keeping with the
applicable cost principles listed in 74.27.
- When an HHS awarding agency makes an award that provides support
for both construction and nonconstruction work, it may require
the recipient to obtain prior approval before making any fund
or budget transfers between the two types of work supported.
- For both construction and nonconstruction awards, recipients
shall notify the HHS awarding agency in writing promptly whenever
the amount of Federal authorized funds is expected to exceed the
needs of the recipient for the project period by more than $5000
or five percent of the Federal award, whichever is greater. This
notification shall not be required if an application for additional
funding is submitted for a continuation award.
- Within 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the request
for budget revisions, HHS awarding agencies shall notify the recipient
whether its requested budget revisions have been approved. If
the requested revision is still under consideration at the end
of 30 calendar days, the HHS awarding agency must inform the recipient
in writing of the date when the recipient may expect a decision.
- When requesting approval for budget changes, recipients shall
make their requests in writing.
- All approvals granted in keeping with the provisions of this
section shall not be valid unless they are in writing, and signed
by at least one of the following HHS officials:
- The Head of the HHS Operating or Staff Division that made
the award or subordinate official with proper delegated authority
from the Head, including the Head of the Regional Office of the
HHS Operating or Staff Division that made the award; or
- The responsible Grants Officer of the HHS Operating or Staff
Division that made the award or an individual duly authorized
by the Grants Officer.
Sect. 74.26 -- Non-Federal audits.
- Recipients and subrecipients that are institutions of higher
education or other non-profit organizations (including hospitals) shall
be subject to the audit requirements contained in the Single Audit Act
Amendments of 1996 (31 U.S.C. 7501-7507) and revised OMB Circular A-
133, ``Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit
Organizations.''
- State and local governments shall be subject to the audit
requirements contained in the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (31
U.S.C. 7501-7507) and revised OMB Circular A-133, ``Audits of States,
Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations.''
- For-profit hospitals not covered by the audit provisions of
revised OMB Circular A-133 shall be subject to the audit requirements
of the Federal awarding agencies.
-
- Recipients and subrecipients that are commercial
organizations (including for-profit hospitals) have two options
regarding audits:
- A financial related audit (as defined in the Government
Auditing Standards, GPO Stock #020-000-00-265-4) of a particular award
in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, in those cases where
the recipient receives awards under only one HHS program; or, if awards
are received under multiple HHS programs, a financial related audit of
all HHS awards in accordance with Government Auditing Standards; or
- An audit that meets the requirements contained in OMB Circular
A-133.
- Commercial organizations that receive annual HHS awards
totaling less than OMB Circular A-133's audit requirement threshold are
exempt from requirements for a non-Federal audit for that year, but records must be available for review by appropriate
officials of Federal agencies.
Sect. 74.27 -- Allowable costs.
- For each kind of recipient, there is a particular set of Federal
principles that applies in determining allowable costs. Allowability
of costs shall be determined in accordance with the cost principles
applicable to the entity incurring the costs. Thus, allowability
of costs incurred by State, local or federally-recognized Indian
tribal governments is determined in accordance with the provisions
of OMB Circular A - 87, "Cost Principles for State and Local
Governments." The allowability of costs incurred by nonprofit
organizations (except for those listed in Attachment C of Circular
A - 122) is determined in accordance with the provisions of OMB
Circular A - 122, "Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations"
and paragraph (b) of this section. The allowability of costs incurred
by institutions of higher education is determined in accordance
with the provisions of OMB Circular A - 21, "Cost Principles
for Educational Institutions." The allowability of costs
incurred by hospitals is determined in accordance with the provisions
of appendix E of this part, "Principles for Determining Costs
Applicable to Research and Development Under Grants and Contracts
with Hospitals." The allowability of costs incurred by commercial
organizations and those nonprofit organizations listed in Attachment
C to Circular A - 122 is determined in accordance with the provisions
of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at 48 CFR part 31,
except that independent research and development costs are unallowable.
- OMB Circular A - 122 does not cover the treatment of bid and
proposal costs or independent research and development costs.
The following rules apply to these costs for nonprofit organizations
subject to that Circular.
- Bid and proposal costs. Bid and proposal costs are the immediate
costs of preparing bids, proposals, and applications for Federal
and non-Federal awards, contracts, and other agreements, including
the development of scientific, cost, and other data needed to
support the bids, proposals, and applications. Bid and proposal
costs of the current accounting period are allowable as indirect
costs. Bid and proposal costs of past accounting periods are unallowable
in the current period. However, if the recipient's established
practice is to treat these costs by some other method, they may
be accepted if they are found to be reasonable and equitable.
Bid and proposal costs do not include independent research and
development costs covered by paragraph (b)(2) of this section,
or pre-award costs covered by OMB Circular A - 122, Attachment
B, paragraph 33 and 74.25(d)(1).
- Independent Research and Development costs. Independent research
and development is research and development which is conducted
by an organization, and which is not sponsored by Federal or non-Federal
awards, contracts, or other agreements. Independent research and
development shall be allocated its proportionate share of indirect
costs on the same basis as the allocation of indirect costs to
sponsored research and development. The cost of independent research
and development, including their proportionate share of indirect
costs, are unallowable.
Sect. 74.28 -- Period of availability of funds.
Where a funding period is specified, a recipient may charge to
the award only allowable costs resulting from obligations incurred
during the funding period and any pre-award costs authorized by
the HHS awarding agency pursuant to 74.25(d)(1).
Property Standards
Sect. 74.30 -- Purpose of property standards.
Sections 74.31 through 74.37 set forth uniform standards governing
management and disposition of property furnished by HHS or whose
cost was charged directly to a project supported by an HHS award.
The HHS awarding agency may not impose additional requirements,
unless specifically required to do so by Federal statute. The
recipient may use its own property management standards and procedures
provided they meet the provisions of 74.31 through 74.37.
Sect. 74.31 -- Insurance coverage.
Recipients shall, at a minimum, provide the equivalent insurance
coverage for real property and equipment acquired with HHS funds
as provided to other property owned by the recipient.
Sect. 74.32 -- Real property.
- Title to real property shall vest in the recipient subject
to the condition that the recipient shall use the real property
for the authorized purpose of the project as long as it is needed
and shall not encumber the property without approval of the HHS
awarding agency.
- The recipient shall obtain written approval from the HHS awarding
agency for the use of real property in other federaally-sponsored
projects when the recipient determines that the property is no
longer needed for the purpose of the original project. Use in
other projects shall be limited to those under federally-sponsored
projects (i.e., awards) or programs that have purposes consistent
with those authorized for support by the HHS awarding agency.
- When the real property is no longer needed as provided in
paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the recipient shall request
disposition instructions from the HHS awarding agency or its successor.
The HHS awarding agency must provide one or more of the following
disposition instructions:
- The recipient may be permitted to retain title without further
obligation to the Federal Government after it compensates the
Federal Government for that percentage of the current fair market
value of the property attributable to the Federal share in the
project.
- The recipient may be directed to sell the property under guidelines
provided by the HHS awarding agency and pay the Federal Government
for that percentage of the current fair market value of the property
attributable to the Federal share in the project (after deducting
actual and reasonable selling and fix-up expenses, if any, from
the sales proceeds). When the recipient is authorized or required
to sell the property, proper sales procedures shall be established
that provide for competition to the extent practicable and result
in the highest possible return.
- The recipient may be directed to transfer title to the property
to the Federal Government or to an eligible third party provided
that, in such cases, the recipient shall be entitled to compensation
for its attributable percentage of the current fair market value
of the property.
Sect. 74.33 -- Federally-owned and exempt property.
- Title of federally-owned property remains vested in the Federal
Government. Recipients shall submit annually an inventory listing
of federally-owned property in their custody to the HHS awarding
agency. Upon completion of the award or when the property is no
longer needed, the recipient shall report the property to the
HHS awarding agency for further agency utilization.
- For research awards to certain types of recipients, 31 U.S.C. 6306 authorizes HHS to vest title to property acquired with Federal funds in the recipient without further obligation to the Federal government and under conditions that HHS considers appropriate. Such property is "exempt property". If the HHS awarding agency has no further need for the property,
it shall be declared excess and reported to the General Services
Administration, unless the HHS awarding agency has statutory authority
to dispose of the property by alternative methods (e.g., the authority
provided by the Federal Technology Transfer Act, 15 U.S.C. 3710(I),
to donate research equipment to educational and nonprofit organizations
in accordance with E.O. 12821, "Improving Mathematics and
Science Education in Support of the National Education Goals").
Appropriate instructions shall be issued to the recipient by the
HHS awarding agency.
- Exempt property shall not be subject to the requirements of
74.34, except that it shall be subject to paragraphs (h)(1), (2),
and (4) of that section concerning the HHS awarding agency's right
to require transfer.
Sect. 74.34 - Equipment.
- Title to equipment acquired by a recipient with HHS funds
shall vest in the recipient, subject to the conditions of this
section.
- The recipient shall not use equipment acquired with HHS funds
to provide services to non-Federal organizations for a fee that
is less than private companies charge for equivalent services,
unless specifically authorized by Federal statute, for so long
as the Federal Government retains an interest in the equipment.
- If the equipment is owned by the Federal Government, use on
other activities not sponsored by the Federal Government shall
be permissible if authorized by the HHS awarding agency.
- User charges shall be treated as program income, in keeping
with the provisions of 74.24.
- The recipient shall use the equipment in the project or program
for which it was acquired as long as needed, whether or not the
project or program continues to be supported by Federal funds
and shall not encumber the property without approval of the HHS
awarding agency. When no longer needed for the original project
or program, the recipient shall use the equipment in connection
with its other federally-sponsored activities, if any, in the
following order of priority:
- Programs, projects, or activities sponsored by the HHS awarding
agency;
- Programs, projects, or activities sponsored by other HHS awarding
agencies; then
- Programs, project, or activities sponsored by other Federal
agencies.
- During the time that equipment is used on the program, project,
or activity for which it was acquired, the recipient shall make
it available for use on other projects or programs if such other
use will not interfere with the work on the program, project,
or activity for which the equipment was originally acquired. First
preference for such other use shall be given to other programs,
projects, or activities sponsored by the HHS awarding agency.
Second preference shall be given to programs, projects, or activities
sponsored by other HHS awarding agencies. Third preference shall
be given to programs, projects, or activities sponsored by other
Federal agencies.
- When acquiring replacement equipment, the recipient may use
the equipment to be replaced as trade-in or sell the equipment
and use the proceeds to offset the costs of the replacement equipment
subject to the approval of the HHS awarding agency.
- The recipient's property management standards for equipment
acquired with Federal funds and federally-owned equipment shall
include all of the following:
- Equipment records shall be maintained accurately and shall
include the following information:
- A description of the equipment;
- Manufacturer's serial number, model number, Federal stock
number, national stock number, or other identification number;
- Source of the equipment, including the award number;
- Whether title vests in the recipient or the Federal Government;
- Acquisition date (or date received, if the equipment was furnished
by the Federal Government) and cost;
- Information from which one can calculate the percentage of
HHS's share in the cost of the equipment (not applicable to equipment
furnished by the Federal Government);
- Location and condition of the equipment and the date the information
was reported;
- Unit acquisition cost; and
- Ultimate disposition data, including date of disposal and
sales price or the method used to determine current fair market
value where a recipient compensates the HHS awarding agency for
its share.
- Equipment owned by the Federal Government shall be identified
to indicate Federal ownership.
- The recipient shall take a physical inventory of equipment
and the results reconciled with the equipment records at least
once every two years. Any differences between quantities determined
by the physical inspection and those shown in the accounting records
shall be investigated to determine the causes of the difference.
The recipient shall, in connection with the inventory, verify
the existence, current utilization, and continued need for the
equipment.
- recipient shall maintain a control system to insure adequate
safeguards to prevent loss, damage, or theft of the equipment.
Any loss, damage, or theft of equipment shall be investigated
and fully documented; if the equipment was owned by the Federal
Government, the recipient shall promptly notify the HHS awarding
agency.
- The recipient shall implement adequate maintenance procedures
to keep the equipment in good condition.
- Where the recipient is authorized or required to sell the
equipment, proper sales procedures shall be established which
provide for competition to the extent practicable and result in
the highest possible return.
- When the recipient no longer needs the equipment, it may use
the equipment for other activities in accordance with the following
standards. For equipment with a current per unit fair market value
of $5000 or more, the recipient may retain the equipment for other
uses provided that compensation is made to the original HHS awarding
agency or its successor. The amount of compensation shall be computed
by applying the percentage of HHS's share in the cost of the original
project or program to the current fair market value of the equipment.
If the recipient has no need for the equipment, the recipient
shall request disposition instructions from the HHS awarding agency;
such instructions must be issued to the recipient no later than
120 calendar days after the recipient's request and the following
procedures shall govern:
- If so instructed or if disposition instructions are not issued
within 120 calendar days after the recipient's request, the recipient
shall sell the equipment and reimburse the HHS awarding agency
an amount computed by applying to the sales proceeds the percentage
of HHS share in the cost of the original project or program. However,
the recipient shall be permitted to deduct and retain from the
HHS share $500 or ten percent of the proceeds, whichever is less,
for the recipient's selling and handling expenses.
- If the recipient is instructed to ship the equipment elsewhere,
the recipient shall be reimbursed by the HHS awarding agency by
an amount which is computed by applying the percentage of the
recipient's share in the cost of the original project or program
to the current fair market value of the equipment, plus any reasonable
shipping or interim storage costs incurred.
- If the recipient is instructed to otherwise dispose of the
equipment, the recipient will be reimbursed by the HHS awarding
agency for such costs incurred in its disposition.
- The HHS awarding agency reserves the right to order the transfer
of title to the Federal Government or to a third party named by
the awarding agency when such third party is otherwise eligible
under existing statutes. Such transfer shall be subject to the
following standards:
- The equipment shall be appropriately identified in the award
or otherwise made known to the recipient in writing.
- The HHS awarding agency may require submission of a final
inventory that lists all equipment acquired with HHS funds and
federally-owned equipment.
- If the HHS awarding agency fails to issue disposition instructions
within 120 calendar days after receipt of the inventory, the recipient
shall apply the standards of paragraph (g)(1) of this section
as appropriate.
- When the HHS awarding agency exercises its right to order
the transfer of title to the Federal Government, the equipment
shall be subject to the rules for federally-owned equipment. (See
74.34(g)).
Sect. 74.35 -- Supplies.
- Title to supplies shall vest in the recipient upon acquisition.
If there is a residual inventory of unused supplies exceeding
$5000 in total aggregate value upon termination or completion
of the project or program and the supplies are not needed for
any other federally-sponsored project or program, the recipient
shall retain the supplies for use on non-federally sponsored activities
or sell them, but shall, in either case, compensate the Federal
Government for its share. The amount of compensation shall be
computed in the same manner as for equipment. (See 74.34(g)).
- The recipient shall not use supplies acquired with Federal
funds to provide services to non-Federal organizations for a fee
that is less than private companies charge for equivalent services,
unless specifically authorized by Federal statute as long as the
Federal Government retains an interest in the supplies.
- If the supplies are owned by the Federal Government, use on other
activities not sponsored by the Federal Government shall be permissible
if authorized by the HHS awarding agency.
- User charges shall be treated as program income, in keeping
with the provisions of 74.24.
Sect. 74.36 -- Intangible property.
- The recipient may copyright any work that is subject to copyright
and was developed, or for which ownership was purchased, under
an award. The HHS awarding agency reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive
and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use
the work for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.
- Recipients are subject to applicable regulations governing
patents and inventions, including government-wide regulations
issued by the Department of Commerce at 37 CFR part 401, "Rights
to Inventions Made by Nonprofit Organizations and Small Business
Firms Under Government Grants, Contracts and Cooperative Agreements."
- The Federal Government has the right to:
- Obtain, reproduce, publish or otherwise use the data first
produced under an award; and
- Authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise
use such data for Federal purposes.
- Title to intangible property and debt instruments purchased
or otherwise acquired under an award or subaward vests upon acquisition
in the recipient. The recipient shall use that property for the
originally -- authorized purpose, and the recipient shall not
encumber the property without approval of the HHS awarding agency.
When no longer needed for the originally authorized purpose, disposition
of the intangible property shall occur in accordance with the
provisions of 74.34 (g) and (h).
Sect. 74.37 -- Property trust relationship.
Real property, equipment, intangible property and debt instruments
that are acquired or improved with Federal funds shall be held
in trust by the recipients as trustee for the beneficiaries of
the project or program under which the property was acquired or
improved, and shall not be encumbered without the approval of
the HHS awarding agency. Recipients shall record liens or other
appropriate notices of record to indicate that real property has
been acquired or constructed or, where applicable, improved with
Federal funds, and that use and disposition conditions apply to
the property.
Procurement Standards
Sect. 74.40 -- Purpose of procurement standards.
Sections 74.41 through 74.48 set forth standards for use by recipients
in establishing procedures for the procurement of supplies and
other expendable property, equipment, real property and other
services with Federal funds. These standards are established to
ensure that such materials and services are obtained in an effective
manner and in compliance with the provisions of applicable Federal
statutes and executive orders. The standards apply where the cost
of the procurement is treated as a direct cost of an award.
Sect. 74.41 -- Recipient responsibilities.
The standards contained in this section do not relieve the recipients
of the contractual responsibilities arising under its contract(s).
The recipient is the responsible authority, without recourse to
the HHS awarding agency, regarding the settlement and satisfaction
of all contractual and administrative issues arising out of procurements
entered into in support of an award or other agreement. This includes
disputes, claims, protests of award, source evaluation or other
matters of a contractual nature. Matters concerning violation
of statute are to be referred to such Federal, State or local
authority as may have proper jurisdiction.
Sect. 74.42 -- Codes of conduct.
The recipient shall maintain written standards of conduct governing
the performance of its employees engaged in the award and administration
of contracts. No employee, officer, or agent shall participate
in the selection, award, or administration of a contract supported
by Federal funds if a real or apparent conflict of interest would
be involved. Such a conflict would arise when the employee, officer,
or agent, or any member of his or her immediate family, his or
her partner, or an organization which employs or is about to employ
any of the parties indicated herein, has a financial or other
interest in the firm selected for an award. The officers, employees,
and agents of the recipient shall neither solicit nor accept gratuities,
favors, or anything of monetary value from contractors, or parties
to subagreements. However, recipients may set standards for situations
in which the financial interest is not substantial or the gift
is an unsolicited item of nominal value. The standards of conduct
shall provide for disciplinary actions to be applied for violations
of such standards by officers, employers, or agents of the recipients.
Sect. 74.43 -- Competition.
All procurement transactions shall be conducted in a manner to
provide, to the maximum extent practical, open and free competition.
The recipient shall be alert to organizational conflicts of interest
as well as noncompetitive practices among contractors that may
restrict or eliminate competition or otherwise restrain trade.
In order to ensure objective contractor performance and eliminate
unfair competitive advantage, contractors that develop or draft
grant applications, or contract specifications, requirements,
statements of work, invitations for bids and/or requests for proposals
shall be excluded from competing for such procurements. Awards
shall be made to the bidder or offeror whose bid or offer is responsive
to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the recipient,
price, quality and other factors considered. Solicitations shall
clearly set forth all requirements that the bidder or offeror
shall fulfill in order for the bid or offer to be evaluated by
the recipient. Any and all bids or offers may be rejected when
it is in the recipient's interest to do so.
Sect. 74.44 -- Procurement procedures.
- All recipients shall establish written procurement procedures.
These procedures shall provide for, at a minimum, that:
- Recipients avoid purchasing unnecessary items;
- Where appropriate, an analysis is made of lease and purchase
alternatives to determine which would be the most economical and
practical procurement for the recipient and the Federal Government; and
- Solicitations for goods and services provide for all of the
following:
- A clear and accurate description of the technical requirements
for the material, product or service to be procured. In competitive
procurements, such a description shall not contain features which
unduly restrict competition.
- Requirements which the bidder/offeror must fulfill and all
other factors to be used in evaluating bids or proposals.
- A description, whenever practicable, of technical requirements
in terms of functions to be performed or performance required,
including the range of acceptable characteristics or minimum acceptable
standards.
- The specific features of ``brand name or equal" descriptions
that bidders are required to meet when such items are included
in the solicitation.
- The acceptance, to the extent practicable and economically
feasible, of products and services dimensioned in the metric system
of measurement.
- Preference, to the extent practicable and economically feasible,
for products and services that conserve natural resources and
protect the environment and are energy efficient.
- Positive efforts shall be made by recipients to utilize small
businesses, minority-owned firms, and women's business enterprises,
whenever possible. Recipients of HHS awards shall take all of
the following steps to further this goal.
- Ensure that small businesses, minority-owned firms, and women's
business enterprises are used to the fullest extent practicable.
- Make information on forthcoming opportunities available and
arrange time frames for purchases and contracts to encourage and
facilitate participation by small businesses, minority-owned firms,
and women's business enterprises.
- Consider in the contract process whether firms competing for
larger contracts intend to subcontract with small businesses,
minority-owned firms, and women's business enterprises.
- Encourage contracting with consortiums of small businesses,
minority-owned firms and women's business enterprises when a contract
is too large for one of these firms to handle individually.
- Use the services and assistance, as appropriate, of such organizations
as the Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce's
Minority Business Development Agency in the solicitation and utilization
of small businesses, minority-owned firms and women's business
enterprises.
- The type of procuring instruments used (e.g., fixed price
contracts, cost reimbursable contracts, purchase orders, and incentive
contracts) shall be determined by the recipient but shall be appropriate
for the particular procurement and for promoting the best interest
of the program or project involved. The ``cost-plus-a-percentage-of-cost"
or ''percentage of construction cost" methods of contracting
shall not be used.
- Contracts shall be made only with responsible contractors
who possess the potential ability to perform successfully under
the terms and conditions of the proposed procurement. Consideration
shall be given to such matters as contractor integrity, record
of past performance, financial and technical resources or accessibility
to other necessary resources. In certain circumstances, contracts
with certain parties are restricted by agencies' implementation
of E.O.s 12549 and 12689, ``Debarment and Suspension." (See
45 CFR part 76.)
- Recipients shall, on request, make available for the HHS awarding
agency, pre-award review and procurement documents, such as requests
for proposals or invitations for bids, independent cost estimates,
etc., when any of the following conditions apply.
- A recipient's procurement procedures or operation fails to
comply with the procurement standards in this Part.
- The procurement is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold fixed at 41 U.S.C. 403(11)(currently $100,000) and is to be awarded
without competition or only one bid or offer is received in response
to a solicitation.
- The procurement, which is expected to exceed the small purchase
threshold, specifies a ``brand name" product.
- The proposed award over the simplified acquisition threshold is to
be awarded to other than the apparent low bidder under a sealed
bid procurement.
- A proposed contract modification changes the scope of a contract
or increases the contract amount by more than the amount of the
simplified acquisition threshold.
Sect. 74.45 -- Cost and price analysis.
Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented
in the procurement files in connection with every procurement
action. Price analysis may be accomplished in various ways, including
the comparison of price quotations submitted, market prices and
similar indicia, together with discounts. Cost analysis is the
review and evaluation of each element of cost to determine reasonableness,
allocability and allowability.
Sect. 74.46 -- Procurement records.
Procurement records and files for purchases in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold shall include the following at a minimum:
- Basis for contractor selection
- Justification for lack of competition when competitive bids
or offers are not obtained
- basis for award cost or price.
Sect. 74.47 -- Contract administration.
A system for contract administration shall be maintained to ensure
contractor conformance with the terms, conditions and specifications
of the contract and to ensure adequate and timely follow up of
all purchases. Recipients shall evaluate contractor performance
and document, as appropriate, whether contractors have met the
terms, conditions and specifications of the contract.
Sect. 74.48 -- Contract provisions.
The recipient shall include, in addition to provisions to define
a sound and complete agreement, the following provisions in all
contracts. The following provisions shall also be applied to subcontracts:
- Contracts in excess of the small purchase threshold shall
contain contractual provisions or conditions that allow for administrative,
contractual, or legal remedies in instances in which a contractor
violates or breaches the contract terms, and provide for such
remedial actions as may be appropriate.
- Contracts in excess of the simplified aquisition threshold (currently $100,000)shall
contain suitable provisions for termination by the recipient,
including the manner by which termination shall be effected and
the basis for settlement. In addition, such contracts shall describe
conditions under which the contract may be terminated for default
as well as conditions where the contract may be terminated because
of circumstances beyond the control of the contractor.
- Except as otherwise required by statute, an award that requires
the contracting (or subcontracting) for construction or facility
improvements shall provide for the recipient to follow its own
requirements relating to bid guarantees, performance bonds, and
payment bonds unless the construction contract or subcontract
exceeds $100,000. For those contracts or subcontracts exceeding
$100,000, the HHS awarding agency may accept the bonding policy
and requirements of the recipient, provided the HHS awarding agency
has made a determination that the Federal Government's interest
is adequately protected. If such a determination has not been
made, the minimum requirements shall be as follows:
- A bid guarantee from each bidder equivalent to five percent
of the bid price. The ``bid guarantee" shall consist of a
firm commitment such as a bid bond, certified check, or other
negotiable instrument accompanying a bid as assurance that the
bidder shall, upon acceptance of his bid, execute such contractual
documents as may be required within the time specified.
- A performance bond on the part of the contractor for 100 percent
of the contract price. A ``performance bond" is one executed
in connection with a contract to secure fulfillment of all the
contractor's obligations under such contract.
- A payment bond on the part of the contractor for 100 percent
of the contract price. A ``payment bond" is one executed
in connection with a contract to assure payment as required by
statute of all persons supplying labor and material in the execution
of the work provided for in the contract.
- Where bonds are required in the situations described herein,
the bonds shall be obtained from companies holding certificates
of authority as acceptable sureties pursuant to 31 CFR part 223,
``Surety Companies Doing Business with the United States."
- All negotiated contracts (except those for less than the small
purchase threshold) awarded by recipients shall include a provision
to the effect that the recipient, the HHS awarding agency, the
U.S. Comptroller General, or any of their duly authorized representatives,
shall have access to any books, documents, papers and records
of the contractor which are directly pertinent to a specific program
for the purpose of making audits, examinations, excerpts and transcriptions.
- All contracts, including small purchases, awarded by recipients
and their contractors shall contain the procurement provisions
of appendix A to this part, as applicable.
Reports and Records
Sect. 74.50 -- Purpose of reports and records.
Sections 74.51 through 74.53 set forth the procedures for monitoring
and reporting on the recipient's financial and program performance
and the necessary standard reporting forms. They also set forth
record retention requirements.
Sect. 74.51 -- Monitoring and reporting program performance.
- Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each
project, program, subaward, function or activity supported by
the award. Recipients shall monitor subawards to ensure that subrecipients
have met the audit requirements as set forth in 74.26.
- The HHS awarding agency will prescribe the frequency with
which the performance reports shall be submitted. Except as provided
in paragraph (f) of this section, performance reports will not
be required more frequently than quarterly or, less frequently
than annually. Annual reports shall be due 90 calendar days after
the award year; quarterly or semi-annual reports shall be due
30 days after the reporting period. The HHS awarding agency may
require annual reports before the anniversary dates of multiple
year awards in lieu of these requirements. The final performance
reports are due 90 calendar days after the expiration or termination
of the award.
- If inappropriate, a final technical or performance report
will not be required after completion of the project.
- Performance reports shall generally contain, for each award,
brief information on each of the following:
- A comparison of actual accomplishments with the goals and
objectives established for the period, the findings of the investigator,
or both. Whenever appropriate and the output of programs or projects
can be readily quantified, such quantitative data should be related
to cost data for computation of unit costs.
- Reasons why established goals were not met, if appropriate.
- Other pertinent information including, when appropriate, analysis
and explanation of cost overruns or high unit costs.
- Recipients shall submit the original and two copies of performance
reports.
- Recipients shall immediately notify the HHS awarding agency
of developments that have a significant impact on the award-supported
activities. Also, notification shall be given in the case of problems,
delays, or adverse conditions which materially impair the ability
to meet the objectives of the award. This notification shall include
a statement of the action taken or contemplated, and any assistance
needed to resolve the situation.
- HHS may make site visits, as needed.
- The HHS awarding agency complies with the applicable report
clearance requirements of 5 CFR part 1320, ``Controlling Paperwork
Burdens on the Public," when requesting performance data
from recipients.
Sect. 74.52 -- Financial reporting.
- The following forms are used for obtaining financial information
from recipients:
- SF - 269 or SF - 269A, Financial Status Report.
- The HHS awarding agency will require recipients to use either
the SF - 269 (long form) or SF - 269A to report the status of
funds for all nonconstruction projects or programs. The SF - 269
shall always be used if income has been earned. The awarding agency
may, however, waive the SF - 269 or SF - 269A requirement when
the PMS - 270, Request for Advance or Reimbursement, or PMS -
272, Report of Federal Cash Transactions, will provide adequate
information to meet its needs, except that a final SF - 269 or
SF - 269A shall be required at the completion of the project when
the PMS - 270 is used only for advances.
- If the HHS awarding agency requires accrual information and
the recipient's accounting records are not normally kept on the
accrual basis, the recipient shall not be required to convert
its accounting system, but shall develop such accrual information
through best estimates based on an analysis of the documentation
on hand.
- The HHS awarding agency will determine the frequency of the
Financial Status Report for each project or program, considering
the size and complexity of the particular project or program.
However, the report will not be required more frequently than
quarterly or less frequently than annually except under 74.14.
A final report shall be required at the completion of the agreement.
- Recipients shall submit the SF - 269 and SF - 269A (an original
and two copies) no later than 30 days after the end of each specified
reporting period for quarterly and semi-annual reports, and 90
calendar days for annual and final reports. Extensions of reporting
due dates may be approved by the HHS awarding agency upon request
of the recipient.
- PMS - 272, Report of Federal Cash Transactions.
- When funds are advanced to recipients, the HHS awarding agency
requires each recipient to submit the PMS - 272 and, when necessary,
its continuation sheet, PMS - 272A through G. The HHS awarding
agency uses this report to monitor cash advanced to recipients
and to obtain disbursement information for each agreement with
the recipients.
- The HHS awarding agency may require forecasts of Federal cash
requirements in the ``Remarks" section of the report.
- Recipients shall submit the original and two copies of the
PMS - 272 15 calendar days following the end of each quarter.
The HHS awarding agency may require a monthly report from those
recipients receiving advances totaling $1 million or more per
year.
- The HHS awarding agency may waive the requirement for submission
of the PMS - 272 for any one of the following reasons: (A) When
monthly advances do not exceed $25,000 per recipient, provided
that such advances are monitored through other forms contained
in this section; (B) If, in HHS' opinion, the recipient's accounting
controls are adequate to minimize excessive Federal advances;
or, (C) When the electronic payment mechanisms provide adequate
data.
- When the HHS awarding agency needs additional information
or more frequent reports, the following shall be observed.
- When additional information is needed to comply with legislative
requirements, the HHS awarding agency will issue instructions
to require recipients to submit that information under the ``Remarks"
section of the reports.
- When HHS determines that a recipient's accounting system does
not meet the standards in 74.21, additional pertinent information
to further monitor awards may be obtained, without regard to 74.4,
upon written notice to the recipient until such time as the system
is brought up to standard. In obtaining this information, the
HHS awarding agencies comply with report clearance requirements
of 5 CFR part 1320, ``Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public."
- The HHS awarding agency may accept the identical information
from a recipient in machine readable format or computer printouts
or electronic outputs in lieu of prescribed formats.
- The HHS awarding agency may provide computer or electronic
outputs to recipients when such action expedites or contributes
to the accuracy of reporting.
Sect. 74.53 -- Retention and access requirements for records.
- This section sets forth requirements for record retention
and access to records for awards to recipients.
- Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records,
and all other records pertinent to an award shall be retained
for a period of three years from the date of submission of the
final expenditure report or, for awards that are renewed quarterly
or annually, from the date of the submission of the quarterly
or annual financial report. The only exceptions are the following:
- If any litigation, claim, financial management review, or
audit is started before the expiration of the 3-year period, the
records shall be retained until all litigation, claims or audit
findings involving the records have been resolved and final action
taken.
- Records for real property and equipment acquired with Federal
funds shall be retained for 3 years after final disposition.
- When records are transferred to or maintained by the HHS awarding
agency, the 3-year retention requirement is not applicable to
the recipient.
- Indirect cost rate proposals, cost allocations plans, etc.,
as specified in 74.53(g).
- Copies of original records may be substituted for the original
records if authorized by the HHS awarding agency.
- The HHS awarding agency will request transfer of certain records
to its custody from recipients when it determines that the records
possess long term retention value. However, in order to avoid
duplicate recordkeeping, the HHS awarding agency may make arrangements
for recipients to retain any records that are continuously needed
for joint use.
- HHS awarding agencies, the HHS Inspector General, the U.S.
Comptroller General, or any of their duly authorized representatives,
have the right of timely and unrestricted access to any books,
documents, papers, or other records of recipients that are pertinent
to the awards, in order to make audits, examinations, excerpts,
transcripts and copies of such documents. This right also includes
timely and reasonable access to a recipient's personnel for the
purpose of interview and discussion related to such documents.
The rights of access in this paragraph are not limited to the
required retention period, but shall last as long as records are
retained.
- Unless required by statute, the HHS awarding agency will not
place restrictions on recipients that limit public access to the
records of recipients that are pertinent to an award, except when
the HHS awarding agency can demonstrate that such records shall
be kept confidential and would have been exempted from disclosure
pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, if the
records had belonged to the HHS awarding agency.
- Paragraphs (g)(1) and (g)(2) of this section apply to the
following types of documents, and their supporting records: Indirect
cost rate computations or proposals, cost allocation plans, and
any similar accounting computations of the rate at which a particular
group of costs is chargeable (such as computer usage chargeback
rates or composite fringe benefit rates).
- If the recipient submits to the Federal Government or the
subrecipient submits to the recipient the proposal, plan, or other
computation to form the basis for negotiation of the rate, then
the 3-year retention period for its supporting records starts
on the date of such submission.
- If the recipient is not required to submit to the Federal
Government or the subrecipient is not required to submit to the
recipient the proposal, plan, or other computation for negotiation
purposes, then the 3-year retention period for the proposal, plan,
or other computation and its supporting records starts at the
end of the fiscal year (or other accounting period) covered by
the proposal, plan, or other computation.
Termination and Enforcement
Sect. 74.60 -- Purpose of termination and enforcement.
Sections 74.61 and 74.62 set forth uniform suspension, termination
and enforcement procedures.
Sect. 74.61 -- Termination.
- Awards may be terminated in whole or in part only if paragraph
(a) (1), (2), or (3) of this section applies.
- By the HHS awarding agency, if a recipient materially fails
to comply with the terms and conditions of an award.
- By the HHS awarding agency with the consent of the recipient,
in which case the two parties shall agree upon the termination
conditions, including the effective date and, in the case of partial
termination, the portion to be terminated.
- By the recipient upon sending to the HHS awarding agency written
notification setting forth the reasons for such termination, the
effective date, and, in the case of partial termination, the portion
to be terminated. However, if the HHS awarding agency determines
in the case of partial termination that the reduced or modified
portion of the award will not accomplish the purposes for which
the award was made, it may terminate the award in its entirety.
- If costs are allowed under an award, the responsibilities
of the recipient referred to in 74.71(a), including those for
property management as applicable, shall be considered in the
termination of the award, and provision shall be made for continuing
responsibilities of the recipient after termination, as appropriate.
Sect. 74.62 -- Enforcement.
- If a recipient materially fails to comply with the terms and
conditions of an award, whether stated in a Federal statute or
regulation, an assurance, an application, or a notice of award,
the HHS awarding agency may, in addition to imposing any of the
special conditions outlined in 74.14, take one or more of the
following actions, as appropriate in the circumstances:
- Temporarily withhold cash payments pending correction of the
deficiency by the recipient or more severe enforcement action
by the HHS awarding agency.
- Disallow (that is, deny both use of funds and any applicablematching credit for) all or part of the cost of the activity or
action not in compliance.
- Wholly or partly suspend or terminate the current award.
- Withhold further awards for the project or program.
- Take any other remedies that may be legally available.
- In taking an enforcement action, the HHS awarding agency will
provide the recipient or subrecipient an opportunity for such
hearing, appeal, or other administrative proceeding to which the
recipient or subrecipient is entitled under any statute or regulation
applicable to the action. (See also 45 CFR parts 16 and 95.)
- Costs to a recipient resulting from obligations incurred by
the recipient during a suspension or after termination of an award
are not allowable unless the HHS awarding agency expressly authorizes
them in the notice of suspension or termination or subsequently.
Other recipient costs during suspension or after termination which
are necessary and not reasonably avoidable are allowable if:
- The costs result from obligations which were properly incurred
by the recipient before the effective date of suspension or termination,
are not in anticipation of it, and in the case of a termination,
are noncancellable; and
- The costs would be allowable if the award were not suspended
or expired normally at the end of the funding period in which
the termination takes effect.
- The enforcement remedies identified in this section, including
suspension and termination, do not preclude a recipient from being
subject to debarment and suspension under E.O.s 12549 and 12689
and the HHS implementing regulations at 74.13 of this part and
45 CFR part 76.
74.70 Purpose.
Sections 74.71 through 74.73 contain closeout procedures and other
procedures for subsequent disallowances and adjustments.
74.71 Closeout procedures.
- Recipients shall submit, within 90 calendar days after the
date of completion of the award, all financial, performance, and
other reports as required by the terms and conditions of the award.
The HHS awarding agency may approve extensions when requested
by the recipient.
- Unless the HHS awarding agency authorizes an extension, a
recipient shall liquidate all obligations incurred under the award
not later than 90 calendar days after the funding period or the
date of completion as specified in the terms and conditions of
the award or in agency implementing instructions.
- HHS will make prompt payments to a recipient for allowable
reimbursable costs under the award being closed out.
- The recipient shall promptly refund any balances of unobligated
cash that HHS has advanced or paid and that is not authorized
to be retained by the recipient for use in other projects. 45
CFR part 30 governs unreturned amounts that become delinquent
debts.
- When authorized by the terms and conditions of the award,
HHS will make a settlement for any upward or downward adjustments
to the Federal share of costs after closeout reports are received.
- The recipient shall account for any real and personal property
acquired with HHS funds or received from the Federal Government
in accordance with 74.31 through 74.37.
- In the event a final audit has not been performed prior to
the closeout of an award, HHS retains the right to recover an
appropriate amount after fully considering the recommendations
on disallowed costs resulting from the final audit.
74.72 Subsequent adjustments and continuing responsibilities.
- The closeout of an award does not affect any of the following:
- The right of the HHS awarding agency to disallow costs and
recover funds on the basis of a later audit or other review.
- The obligation of the recipient to return any funds due as
a result of later refunds, corrections, or other transactions.
- Audit requirements in 74.26.
- Property management requirements in 74.31 through 74.37.
- Records retention requirements in 74.53.
- After closeout of an award, a relationship created under an
award may be modified or ended in whole or in part with the consent
of the HHS awarding agency and the recipient, provided the responsibilities
of the recipient referred to in 74.72(a), including those for
property management as applicable, are considered and provisions
made for continuing responsibilities of the recipient, as appropriate.
74.73 Collection of amounts due.
- Any funds paid to a recipient in excess of the amount to which
the recipient is finally determined to be entitled under the terms
and conditions of the award constitute a debt to the Federal Government.
If not paid within a reasonable period after the demand for payment,
the HHS awarding agency may reduce the debt by paragraph (a) (1),
(2), or (3) of this section:
- Making an administrative offset against other requests for
reimbursements.
- Withholding advance payments otherwise due the recipient.
- Taking other action permitted by statute.
- Except as otherwise provided by law, HHS awarding agencies
will charge interest on an overdue debt in accordance with 4 CFR
ch. II, Federal Claims Collection Standards. (See
45 CFR part 30.)
74.80 Scope of subpart
This subpart contains provisions that apply to awards to commercial organizations. These provisions are in addition to other applicable provisions of htis part, or they make exeptions from other provisions of this part for awards to commercial organizations.
74.81 Prohibition against profit
Except for awards under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs (15 U.S.C. 638), no HHS funds may be paid as profit ro any recipient even if the recipient is a commercial organization. Profit is any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs.
74.82 Program Income
The additional costs alternative described in Sect. 74.24 (b)(1)may not be applied to program income earned by a commercial organization except in the SBIR and STTR programs.
Subpart F: Disputes
Sect. 74.90 -- Final decisions in disputes.
- HHS attempts to promptly issue final decisions in disputes
and in other matters affecting the interests of recipients. However,
final decisions adverse to the recipient are not issued until
it is clear that the matter cannot be resolved through further
exchange of information and views.
- Under various HHS statutes or regulations, recipients have
the right to appeal from, or to have a hearing on, certain final
decisions by HHS awarding agencies. (See, for example, subpart
D of 42 CFR part 50, and 45 CFR parts 16. Paragraphs (c)
and (d) of this section set forth the standards HHS expects its
member agencies to meet in issuing a final decision covered by
any of the statutes or regulations.
- The decision may be brief but must contain:
- A complete statement of the background and basis of the awarding
agency's decision, including reference to the pertinent statutes,
regulations, or other governing documents; and
- Enough information to enable the recipient to understand the
issues and the position of the HHS awarding agency.
- The following or similar language (consistent with the terminology
of the applicable statutes or regulations) should appear at the
end of the decision: "This is the final decision of the (title
of grants officer or other official responsible for the decision).
It shall be the final decision of the Department unless, within
30 days after receiving this decision, you deliver or mail (you
should use registered or certified mail to establish the date)
a written notice of appeal to (name and address of appropriate
contact, e.g., the office responsible for awarding agency preliminary appeal process or, the Departmental Appeals Board, Department of Health
and Human Services, Washington, DC 20201). You shall attach to
the notice a copy of this decision, note that you intend an appeal,
state the amount in dispute, and briefly state why you think that
this decision is wrong. You will be notified of further procedures."
Sect. 74.91 -- Alternative dispute resolution.
HHS encourages its awarding agencies and recipients to try to
resolve disputes by using alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
techniques. ADR often is effective in reducing the cost, delay
and contentiousness involved in appeals and other traditional
ways of handling disputes. ADR techniques include mediation, neutral
evaluation and other consensual methods. Information about ADR
is available from the HHS Dispute Resolution Specialist at the
Departmental Appeals Board, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Washington, DC 20201.
Title 45 - Part 74, Appendix A
All contracts awarded by a recipient, including small purchases,
shall contain the following provisions as applicable where the
cost of the contract is treated as a direct cost of an award:
- Equal Employment Opportunity -- All contracts shall contain
a provision requiring compliance with E.O. 11246, "Equal
Employment Opportunity," as amended by E.O. 11375, "Amending
Executive Order 11246 Relating to Equal Employment Opportunity,"
and as supplemented by regulations at 41 CFR part 60, "Office
of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Equal Employment Opportunity,
Department of Labor."
- Copeland "Anti-Kickback" Act (18 U.S.C. 874 and
40 U.S.C. 276c) -- All contracts and subgrants in excess of $2000
for construction or repair awarded by recipients and subrecipients
shall include a provision for compliance with the Copeland "Anti-Kickback"
Act, 18 U.S.C. 874, as supplemented by Department of Labor regulations,
29 CFR part 3, "Contractors and Subcontractors on Public
Building or Public Work Financed in Whole or in Part by Loans
or Grants from the United States." The Act provides that
each contractor or subrecipient shall be prohibited from inducing,
by any means, any person employed in the construction, completion,
or repair of public work, to give up any part of the compensation
to which he is otherwise entitled. The recipient shall report
all suspected or reported violations to the Federal awarding agency.
- Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 276a to a - 7) -- When
required by Federal program legislation, all construction contracts
awarded by the recipients and subrecipients of more than $2,000
shall include a provision for compliance with the Davis-Bacon
Act, 40 U.S.C. 276a to a - 7, and as supplemented by Department
of Labor regulations, 29 CFR part 5, "Labor Standards Provisions
Applicable to Contracts Governing Federally Financed and Assisted
Construction." Under this Act, contractors shall be required
to pay wages to laborers and mechanics at a rate not less than
the minimum wages specified in a wage determination made by the
Secretary of Labor. In addition, contractors shall be required
to pay wages not less than once a week. The recipient shall place
a copy of the current prevailing wage determination issued by
the Department of Labor in each solicitation and the award of
a contract shall be conditioned upon the acceptance of the wage
determination. The recipient shall report all suspected or reported
violations to the HHS awarding agency.
- Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. 327
- 333) -- Where applicable, all contracts awarded by recipients
in excess of $100,000 for construction contracts and for other contracts that involve the employment of mechanics
or laborers shall include a provision for compliance with sections
102 and 107 of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act,
40 U.S.C. 327 - 333, as supplemented by Department of Labor regulations,
29 CFR part 5. Under section 102 of the Act, each contractor shall
be required to compute the wages of every mechanic and laborer
on the basis of a standard work week of 40 hours. Work in excess
of the standard work week is permissible provided that the worker
is compensated at a rate of not less than 1\1/2\ times the basic
rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in the
work week. Section 107 of the Act is applicable to construction
work and provides that no laborer or mechanic shall be required
to work in surroundings or under working conditions which are
unsanitary, hazardous or dangerous. These requirements do not
apply to the purchases of supplies or materials or articles ordinarily
available on the open market, or contracts for transportation
or transmission of intelligence.
- Rights to Inventions Made Under a Contract or Agreement --
Contracts or agreements for the performance of experimental, developmental,
or research work shall provide for the rights of the Federal Government
and the recipient in any resulting invention in accordance with
37 CFR part 401, "Rights to Inventions Made by Nonprofit
Organizations and Small Business Firms Under Government Grants,
Contracts and Cooperative Agreements," and any further implementing
regulations issued by HHS.
- Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) and the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act as amended (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) -- Contracts
and subgrants of amounts in excess of $100,000 shall contain a
provision that requires the recipient to agree to comply with
all applicable standards, orders or regulations issued pursuant
to the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq., and the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act, as amended 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
Violations shall be reported to the HHS and the appropriate Regional
Office of the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment (31 U.S.C. 1352) -- Contractors
who apply or bid for an award of more than $100,000 shall file
the required certification. Each tier certifies to the tier above
that it will not and has not used Federal appropriated funds to
pay any person or organization for influencing or attempting to
influence an officer or employee of any Federal agency, a member
of Congress, officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of
a member of Congress in connection with obtaining any Federal
contract, grant or any other award covered by 31 U.S.C. 1352.
Each tier shall also disclose any lobbying with non-Federal funds
that takes place in connection with obtaining any Federal award.
Such disclosures are forwarded from tier to tier up to the recipient.
(See also 45 CFR part 93).
- Debarment and Suspension (E.O.s 12549 and 12689) -- Certain
contracts shall not be made to parties listed on the nonprocurement
portion of the General Services Administration's "Lists of
Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Nonprocurement Programs"
in accordance with E.O.s 12549 and 12689, "Debarment and
Suspension." (See 45 CFR part 76.) This list contains the
names of parties debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded by
agencies, and contractors declared ineligible under statutory
authority other than E.O. 12549. Contractors with awards that
exceed the small purchase threshold shall provide the required
certification regarding their exclusion status and that of their
principals prior to award.
[59 FR 43760, Aug. 25, 1994]
Appendix E: Hospital Cost Principles for R&D
I. Purpose and Scope
- Objectives. This appendix provides principles for determining
the costs applicable to research and development work performed
by hospitals under grants and contracts with the Department of
Health and Human Services. These principles are confined to the
subject of cost determination and make no attempt to identify
the circumstances or dictate the extent of hospital participation
in the financing of a particular research or development project.
The principles are designed to provide recognition of the full
allocated costs of such research work under generally accepted
accounting principles. These principles will be applicable to
both proprietary and non-profit hospitals. No provision for profit
or other increment above cost is provided for in these principles.
However, this is not to be interpreted as precluding a negotiated
fee between contracting parties when a fee is appropriate.
- Policy guides. The successful application of these principles
requires development of mutual understanding between representatives
of hospitals and of the Department of Health and Human Services
as to their scope, applicability and interpretation. It is recognized
that:
- The arrangements for hospital participation in the financing
of a research and development project are properly subject to
negotiation between the agency and the hospital concerned in accordance
with such Government-wide criteria as may be applicable.
- Each hospital, possessing its own unique combination of staff,
facilities and experience, should be encouraged to conduct research
in a manner consonant with its own institutional philosophies
and objectives.
- Each hospital in the fulfillment of its contractual obligations
should be expected to employ sound management practices.
- The application of the principles established herein shall
be in conformance with the generally accepted accounting practices
of hospitals.
- Hospitals receive reimbursements from the Federal Government
for differing types of services under various programs such as
support of Research and Development (including discrete clinical
centers) Health Services Projects, Medicare, etc. It is essential
that consistent procedures for determining reimbursable costs
for similar services be employed without regard to program differences.
Therefore, both the direct and indirect costs of research programs
must be identified as a cost center(s) for the cost finding and
step-down requirements of the Medicare program, or in its absence
the Medicaid program.
- Application. All operating agencies within the Department
of Health and Human Services that sponsor research and development
work in hospitals will apply these principles and related policy
guides in determining the costs incurred for such work under grants
and cost-reimbursement type contracts and subcontracts. These
principles will also be used as a guide in the pricing of fixed-price
contracts and subcontracts.
II. Definitions of Terms
- Organized research means all research activities of a hospital
that may be identified whether the support for such research is
from a federal, non-federal or internal source.
- Departmental research means research activities that are not
separately budgeted and accounted for. Such work, which includes
all research activities not encompassed under the term organized
research, is regarded for purposes of this document as a part
of the patient care activities of the hospital.
- Research agreement means any valid arrangement to perform
federally-sponsored research or development including grants,
cost-reimbursement type contracts, cost-reimbursement type subcontracts,
and fixed-price contracts and subcontracts.
- Instruction and training means the formal or informal programs
of educating and training technical and professional health services
personnel, primarily medical and nursing training. This activity,
if separately budgeted or identifiable with specific costs, should
be considered as a cost objective for purposes of indirect cost
allocations and the development of patient care costs.
- Other hospital activities means all organized activities of
a hospital not immediately related to the patient care, research,
and instructional and training functions which produce identifiable
revenue from the performance of these activities. If a non-related
activity does not produce identifiable revenue, it may be necessary
to allocate this expense using an appropriate basis. In such a
case, the activity may be included as an allocable cost (See paragraph
III D below.) Also included under this definition is any category
of cost treated as ``Unallowable,'' provided such category of
cost identifies a function or activity to which a portion of the
institution's indirect cost (as defined in paragraph V. A.) are
properly allocable.
- Patient care means those departments or cost centers which
render routine or ancillary services to in-patients and/or out-patients.
As used in paragraph IX B.23, it means the cost of these services
applicable to patients involved in research programs.
- Allocation means the process by which the indirect costs are
assigned as between:
- Organized research,
- Patient care including departmental research.
- Instruction and training, and
- Other hospital activities.
- Cost center means an identifiable department or area (including
research) within the hospital which has been assigned an account
number in the hospital accounting system for the purpose of accumulating
expense by department or area.
- Cost finding is the process of recasting the data derived
from the accounts ordinarily kept by a hospital to ascertain costs
of the various types of services rendered. It is the determination
of direct costs by specific identification and the proration of
indirect costs by allocation.
- Step down is a cost finding method that recognizes that services
rendered by certain nonrevenue-producing departments or centers
are utilized by certain other nonrevenue producing centers as
well as by the revenue-producing centers. All costs of nonrevenue-producing
centers are allocated to all centers which they serve, regardless
of whether or not these centers produce revenue. Following the
apportionment of the cost of the nonrevenue-producing center,
that center will be considered closed and no further costs are
apportioned to that center.
- Scatter bed is a bed assigned to a research patient based
on availability. Research patients occupying these beds are not
physically segregated from nonresearch patients occupying beds.
Scatter beds are geographically dispersed among all the beds available
for use in the hospital. There are no special features attendant
to a scatter bed that distinguishes it from others that could
just as well have been occupied.
- Discrete bed is a bed or beds that have been set aside for
occupancy by research patients and are physically segregated from
other hospital beds in an environment that permits an easily ascertainable
allocation of costs associated with the space they occupy and
the services they generate.
III. Basic Considerations
- Composition of total costs. The cost of a research agreement
is comprised of the allowable direct costs incident to its performance
plus the allocable portion of the allowable indirect costs of
the hospital less applicable credits. (See paragraph III - E.)
- Factors affecting allowability of costs. The tests of allowability
of costs under these principles are:
- They must be reasonable.
- They must be assigned to research agreements under the standards
and methods provided herein.
- They must be accorded consistent treatment through application
of those generally accepted accounting principles appropriate
to the circumstances (See paragraph I - E.5.) and
- They must conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth
in these principles or in the research agreement as to types or
amounts of cost items.
- Reasonable costs. A cost may be considered reasonable if the
nature of the goods or services acquired or applied, and the amount
involved therefor reflect the action that a prudent person would
have taken under the circumstances prevailing at the time the
decision to incur the cost was made. Major considerations involved
in the determination of the reasonableness of a cost are:
- Whether or not the cost is of a type generally recognized
as necessary for the operation of the hospital or the performance
of the research agreement,
- The restraints or requirements imposed by such factors as
arm's length bargaining, federal and state laws and regulations,
and research agreement terms and conditions,
- Whether or not the individuals concerned acted with due prudence
in the circumstances, considering their responsibilities to the
hospital, its patients, its employees, its students, the Government,
and the public at large, and
- The extent to which the actions taken with respect to the
incurrence of the cost are consistent with established hospital
policies and practices applicable to the work of the hospital
generally, including Government research.
- Allocable costs.
- A cost is allocable to a particular cost center (i.e., a specific
function, project, research agreement, department, or the like)
if the goods or services involved are chargeable or assignable
to such cost center in accordance with relative benefits received
or other equitable relationship. Subject to the foregoing, a cost
is allocable to a research agreement if it is incurred solely
to advance the work under the research agreement; or it benefits
both the research agreement and other work of the hospital in
proportions that can be approximated through use of reasonable
methods; or it is necessary to the overall operation of the hospital
and, in light of the standards provided in this chapter, is deemed
to be assignable in part to organized research. Where the purchase
of equipment or other capital items are specifically authorized
under a research agreement, the amounts thus authorized for such
purchases are allocable to the research agreement regardless of
the use that may subsequently be made of the equipment or other
capital items involved.
- Any costs allocable to a particular research agreement under
the standards provided in these principles may not be shifted
to other research agreements in order to meet deficiencies caused
by overruns or other fund considerations, to avoid restrictions
imposed by law or by terms of the research agreement, or for other
reasons of convenience.
- Applicable credits.
- The term applicable credits refers to those receipts or negative
expenditure types of transactions which operate to offset or reduce
expense items that are allocable to research agreements as direct
or indirect costs as outlined in paragraph V - A. Typical examples
of such transactions are: purchase discounts, rebates, or allowances;
recoveries or indemnities on losses; sales of scrap or incidental
services; tuition; adjustments of overpayments or erroneous charges;
and services rendered to patients admitted to federally funded
clinical research centers, primarily for care though also participating
in research protocols.
- In some instances, the amounts received from the Federal Government
to finance hospital activities or service operations should be
treated as applicable credits. Specifically, the concept of netting
such credit items against related expenditures should be applied
by the hospital in determining the rates or amounts to be charged
to government research for services rendered whenever the facilities
or other resources used in providing such services have been financed
directly, in whole or in part, by federal funds. Thus, where such
items are provided for or benefit a particular hospital activity,
i.e., patient care, research, instruction and training, or other,
they should be treated as an offset to the indirect costs apportioned
to that activity. Where the benefits are common to all hospital
activities they should be treated as a credit to the total indirect
cost pool before allocation to the various cost objectives.
IV. Direct Costs
- General. Direct costs are those that can be identified specifically
with a particular cost center. For this purpose, the term cost
center refers not only to the ultimate centers against which costs
are finally lodged such as research agreements, but also to other
established cost centers such as the individual accounts for recording
particular objects or items of expense, and the separate account
groupings designed to record the expenses incurred by individual
organizational units, functions, projects and the like. In general,
the administrative functions and service activities described
in paragraph VI are identifiable as separate cost centers, and
the expenses associated with such centers become eligible in due
course for distribution as indirect costs of research agreements
and other ultimate cost centers.
- Application to research agreements. Identifiable benefit to
the research work rather than the nature of the goods and services
involved is the determining factor in distinguishing direct from
indirect costs of research agreements. Typical of transactions
chargeable to a research agreement as direct costs are the compensation
of employees for the time or effort devoted to the performance
of work under the research agreement, including related staff
benefit and pension plan costs to the extent that such items are
consistently accorded to all employees and treated by the hospital
as direct rather than indirect costs (see paragraph V. B4b); the
costs of materials consumed or expended in the performance of
such work; and other items of expense incurred for the research
agreement, such as extraordinary utility consumption. The cost
of materials supplied from stock or services rendered by specialized
facilities or other institutional service operations may be included
as direct costs of research agreements provided such items are
consistently treated by the institution as direct rather than
indirect costs and are charged under a recognized method of costing
or pricing designed to recover only the actual direct and indirect
costs of such material or service and conforming to generally
accepted cost accounting practices consistently followed by the
institution.
V. Indirect Costs
- General. Indirect costs are those that have been incurred
for common or joint objectives, and thus are not readily subject
to treatment as direct costs of research agreements or other ultimate
or revenue producing cost centers. In hospitals such costs normally
are classified but not necessarily restricted to the following
functional categories: Depreciation; Administrative and General
(including fringe benefits if not charged directly); Operation
of Plant; Maintenance of Plant; Laundry and Linen Service; Housekeeping;
Dietary; Maintenance of Personnel; and Medical Records and Library.
- Criteria for distribution --
- Base period. A base period for distribution of indirect costs
is the period during which such costs are incurred and accumulated
for distribution to work performed within that period. The base
period normally should coincide with the fiscal year established
by the hospital, but in any event the base period should be so
selected as to avoid inequities in the distribution of costs.
- Need for cost groupings. The overall objective of the allocation
process is to distribute the indirect costs described in paragraph
VI to organized research, patient care, instruction and training,
and other hospital activities in reasonable proportions consistent
with the nature and extent of the use of the hospital's resources
by research personnel, medical staff, patients, students, and
other personnel or organizations. In order to achieve this objective
with reasonable precision, it may be necessary to provide for
selective distribution by establishing separate groupings of cost
within one or more of the functional categories of indirect costs
referred to in paragraph V - A. In general, the cost groupings
established within a functional category should constitute, in
each case, a pool of those items of expense that are considered
to be of like character in terms of their relative contribution
to (or degree of remoteness from) the particular cost centers
to which distribution is appropriate. Each such pool or cost grouping
should then be distributed individually to the related cost centers,
using the distribution base or method most appropriate in the
light of the guides set out in B3 below. While this paragraph
places primary emphasis on a step-down method of indirect cost
computation, paragraph VIII provides an alternate method which
may be used under certain conditions.
- Selection of distribution method. Actual conditions must be
taken into account in selecting the method or base to be used
in distributing to related cost centers the expenses assembled
under each of the individual cost groups established as indicated
under B2 above. Where a distribution can be made by assignment
of a cost grouping directly to the area benefited, the distribution
should be made in that manner. Care should be given, however,
to eliminate similar or duplicative costs from any other distribution
made to this area. Where the expenses under a cost grouping are
more general in nature, the distribution to related cost centers
should be made through use of a selected base which will produce
results which are equitable to both the Government and the hospital.
In general, any cost element or cost-related factor associated
with the hospital's work is potentially adaptable for use as a
distribution base provided:
- It can readily be expressed in terms of dollars or other quantitative
measure (total direct expenditures, direct salaries, manhours
applied, square feet utilized, hours of usage, number of documents
processed, population served, and the like); and
- It is common to the related cost centers during the base period.
The essential consideration in selection of the distribution base
in each instance is that it be the one best suited for assigning
the pool of costs to related cost centers in accord with the relative
benefits derived; the traceable cause and effect relationship;
or logic and reason, where neither benefit nor cause and effect
relationship is determinable.
- General consideration on cost groupings. The extent to which
separate cost groupings and selective distribution would be appropriate
at a hospital is a matter of judgment to be determined on a case-by-case
basis. Typical situations which may warrant the establishment
of two or more separate cost groups (based on account classification
or analysis) within a functional category include but are not
limited to the following:
- Where certain items or categories of expense relate solely
to one of the major divisions of the hospital (patient care, sponsored
research, instruction and training, or other hospital activities)
or to any two but not all, such expenses should be set aside as
a separate cost grouping for direct assignment or selective distribution
in accordance with the guides provided in B2 and B3 above.
- Where any types of expense ordinary treated as indirect cost
as outlined in paragraph V - A are charged to research agreements
as direct costs, the similar type expenses applicable to other
activities of the institution must through separate cost grouping
be excluded from the indirect costs allocable to research agreements.
- Where it is determined that certain expenses are for the support
of a service unit or facility whose output is susceptible of measurement
on a workload or other quantitative basis, such expenses should
be set aside as a separate cost grouping for distribution on such
basis to organized research and other hospital activities.
- Where organized activities (including identifiable segments
of organized research as well as the activities cited in paragraph
II - E) provide their own purchasing, personnel administration,
building maintenance, or housekeeping or similar service, the
distribution of such elements of indirect cost to such activities
should be accomplished through cost grouping which includes only
that portion of central indirect costs (such as for overall management)
which are properly allocable to such activities.
- Where the hospital elects to treat as indirect charges the
costs of pension plans and other staff benefits, such costs should
be set aside as a separate cost grouping for selective distribution
to related cost centers, including organized research.
- Where the hospital is affiliated with a medical school or
some other institution which performs organized research on the
hospital's premises, every effort should be made to establish
separate cost groupings in the Administrative and General or other
applicable category which will reasonably reflect the use of services
and facilities by such research. (See also paragraph VII - A.3)
- Materiality. Where it is determined that the use of separate
cost groupings and selective distribution are necessary to produce
equitable results, the number of such separate cost groupings
within a functional category should be held within practical limits,
after taking into consideration the materiality of the amounts
involved and the degree of precision attainable through less selective
methods of distribution.
- Administration of limitations on allowances for indirect costs.
- Research grants may be subject to laws and/or administrative
regulations that limit the allowance for indirect costs under
each such grant to a stated percentage of the direct costs allowed.
Agencies that sponsor such grants will establish procedures which
will assure that:
- The terms and amount authorized in each case conform with
the provisions of paragraphs III, V and IX of these principles
as they apply to matters involving the consistent treatment and
allowability of individual items of cost; and
- The amount actually allowed for indirect costs under each
such research grant does not exceed the maximum allowable under
the limitation or the amount otherwise allowable under these principles,
whichever is the smaller.
- Where the actual allowance for indirect costs on any research
grant must be restricted to the smaller of the two alternative
amounts referred to in C1 above, such alternative amounts should
be determined in accordance with the following guides:
- The maximum allowable under the limitation should be established
by applying the stated percentage to a direct cost base which
shall include all items of expenditure authorized by the sponsoring
agency for inclusion as part of the total cost for the direct
benefit of the work under the grant; and
- The amount otherwise allowable under these principles should
be established by applying the current institutional indirect
cost rate to those elements of direct cost which were included
in the base on which the rate was computed.
- When the maximum amount allowable under a statutory limitation
or the terms of a research agreement is less than the amount otherwise
allocable as indirect costs under these principles, the amount
not recoverable as indirect costs under the research agreement
involved may not be shifted to other research agreements.
VI. Identification and Assignment of Indirect Costs
- Depreciation or use charge.
- The expenses under this heading should include depreciation
(as defined in paragraph IX - B.9a) on buildings, fixed equipment,
and movable equipment, except to the extent purchased through
federal funds. Where adequate records for the recording of depreciation
are not available, a use charge may be substituted for depreciation
(See paragraph IX - B.)
- The expenses included in this category should be allocated
to applicable cost centers in a manner consistent with the guides
set forth in paragraph V - B, on a basis that gives primary emphasis
to (a) space utilization with respect to depreciation on buildings
and fixed equipment; and (b) specific identification of assets
and their use with respect to movable equipment as it relates
to patient care, organized research, instruction and training,
and other hospital activities. Where such records are not sufficient
for the purpose of the foregoing, reasonable estimates will suffice
as a means for effecting distribution of the amounts involved.
- Administration and general expenses.
- The expenses under this heading are those that have been incurred
for the administrative offices of the hospital including accounting,
personnel, purchasing, information centers, telephone expense,
and the like which do not relate solely to any major division
of the institution, i.e., solely to patient care, organized research,
instruction and training, or other hospital activities.
- The expenses included in this category may be allocated on
the basis of total expenditures exclusive of capital expenditures,
or salaries and wages in situations where the results of the distribution
made on this basis are deemed to be equitable both to the Government
and the hospital; otherwise the distribution of Administration
and General expenses should be made through use of selected bases,
applied to separate cost groupings established within this category
of expenses in accordance with the guides set out in paragraph
V - B.
- Operation of plant.
- The expenses under this heading are those that have been incurred
by a central service organization or at the departmental level
for the administration, supervision, and provision of utilities
(exclusive of telephone expense) and protective services to the
physical plant. They include expenses incurred for such items
as power plant operations, general utility costs, elevator operations,
protection services, and general parking lots.
- The expenses included in this category should be allocated
to applicable cost centers in a manner consistent with the guides
provided in paragraph V - B, on a basis that gives primary emphasis
to space utilization. The allocations should be developed as follows:
- Where actual space and related cost records are available
or can readily be developed and maintained without significant
change in the accounting practices, the amount distributed should
be based on such records;
- Where the space and related cost records maintained are not
sufficient for purposes of the foregoing, a reasonable estimate
of the proportion of total space assigned to the various costs
centers normally will suffice as a means for effecting distribution
of the amounts involved; or
- Where it can be demonstrated that an area or volume or space
basis of allocation is impractical or inequitable, other bases
may be used provided consideration is given to the use of facilities
by research personnel and others, including patients.
- Maintenance of plant.
- The expenses under this heading should include:
- All salaries and wages pertaining to ordinary repair and maintenance
work performed by employees on the payroll of the hospital;
- All supplies and parts used in the ordinary repairing and
maintaining of buildings and general equipment; and
- Amounts paid to outside concerns for the ordinary repairing
and maintaining of buildings and general equipment.
- The expenses included in this category should be allocated
to applicable cost centers in a manner consistent with the guides
provided in paragraph V - B. on a basis that gives primary emphasis
to space utilization. The allocations and apportionments should
be developed as follows:
- Where actual space and related cost records are available
and can readily be developed and maintained without significant
change in the accounting practices, the amount distributed should
be based on such records;
- Where the space and related cost records maintained are not
sufficient for purposes of the foregoing, a reasonable estimate
of the proportion of total space assigned to the various cost
centers normally will suffice as a means for effecting distribution
of the amounts involved; or
- Where it can be demonstrated that an area or volume of space
basis of allocation is impractical or inequitable, other basis
may be used provided consideration is given to the use of facilities
by research personnel and others, including patients.
- Laundry and linen.
- The expenses under this heading should include:
- Salaries and wages of laundry department employees, seamstresses,
clean linen handlers, linen delivery men, etc.;
- Supplies used in connection with the laundry operation and
all linens purchased; and
- Amounts paid to outside concerns for purchased laundry and/or
linen service.
- The expense included in this category should be allocated
to related cost centers in a manner consistent with the guides
provided in paragraph V - B. on a basis that gives primary emphasis
to actual pounds of linen used. The allocations should be developed
as follows:
- Where actual poundage and related cost records are available
or can readily be developed and maintained without significant
change in the accounting practices, the amount distributed should
be based on such records;
- Where it can be demonstrated that a poundage basis of allocation
is impractical or inequitable other bases may be used provided
consideration is given to the use of linen by research personnel
and others, including patients.
- Housekeeping.
- The expenses under this heading should include:
- All salaries and wages of the department head, foreman, maids,
porters, janitors, wall washers, and other housekeeping employees;
- All supplies used in carrying out the housekeeping functions;
and
- Amounts paid to outside concerns for purchased services such
as window washing, insect extermination, etc.
- The expenses included in this category should be allocated
to related cost centers in a manner consistent with the guides
provided in paragraph V - B. on a basis that gives primary emphasis
to space actually serviced by the housekeeping department. The
allocations and apportionments should be developed as follows:
- Where actual space serviced and related cost records are available
or can readily be developed and maintained without significant
change in the accounting practices, the amount distributed should
be based on such records;
- Where the space serviced and related cost records maintained
are not sufficient for purposes of the foregoing, a reasonable
estimate of the proportion of total space assigned to the various
cost centers normally will suffice as a means for effecting distribution
of the amounts of housekeeping expenses involved; or
- Where it can be demonstrated that the space serviced basis
of allocation is impractical or inequitable, other bases may be
used provided consideration is given to the use of housekeeping
services by research personnel and others, including patients.
- Dietary.
- These expenses, as used herein, shall mean only the subsidy
provided by the hospital to its employees including research personnel
through its cafeteria operation. The hospital must be able to
demonstrate through the use of proper cost accounting techniques
that the cafeteria operates at a loss to the benefit of employees.
- The reasonable operating loss of a subsidized cafeteria operation
should be allocated to related cost centers in a manner consistent
with the guides provided in paragraph V - B. on a basis that gives
primary emphasis to number of employees.
- Maintenance (housing) of personnel.
- The expenses under this heading should include:
- The salaries and wages of matrons, clerks, and other employees
engaged in work in nurses' residences and other employees' quarters;
- All supplies used in connection with the operation of such
dormitories; and
- Payments to outside agencies for the rental of houses, apartments,
or rooms used by hospital personnel.
- The expenses included in this category should be allocated
to related cost centers in a manner consistent with the guides
provided in paragraph V - B. on a basis that gives primary emphasis
to employee utilization of housing facilities. The allocation
should be developed as follows:
- Appropriate credit should be given for all payments received
from employees or otherwise to reduce the expense to be allocated;
- A net cost per housed employee may then be computed; and
- Allocation should be made on a departmental basis based on
the number of housed employees in each respective department.
- Medical records and library.
- The expenses under this heading should include:
- The salaries and wages of the records librarian, medical librarian,
clerks, stenographers, etc.; and
- All supplies such as medical record forms, chart covers, filing
supplies, stationery, medical library books, periodicals, etc.
- The expenses included in this category should be allocated
to related cost centers in a manner consistent with the guides
provided in paragraph V - B. on a basis that gives primary emphasis
to a special time survey of medical records personnel. If this
appears to be impractical or inequitable, other bases may be used
provided consideration is given to the use of these facilities
by research personnel and others, including patients.
VII. Determination and Application of
Indirect Cost Rate or Rates
- Indirect cost pools.
- Subject to (2) below, indirect costs allocated to organized
research should be treated as a common pool, and the costs in
such common pool should be distributed to individual research
agreements benefiting therefrom on a single rate basis.
- In some instances a single rate basis for use on all government
research at a hospital may not be appropriate since it would not
take into account those different environmental factors which
may affect substantially the indirect costs applicable to a particular
segment of government research at the institution. For this purpose,
a particular segment of government research may be that performed
under a single research agreement or it may consist of research
under a group of research agreements performed in a common environment.
The environmental factors are not limited to the physical location
of the work. Other important factors are the level of the administrative
support required, the nature of the facilities or other resources
employed, the scientific disciplines or technical skills involved,
the organizational arrangements used, or any combination thereof.
Where a particular segment of government research is performed
within an environment which appears to generate a significantly
different level of indirect costs, provision should be made for
a separate indirect cost pool applicable to such work. An example
of this differential may be in the development of a separate indirect
cost pool for a clinical research center grant. The separate indirect
cost pool should be developed during the course of the regular
distribution process, and the separate indirect cost rate resulting
therefrom should be utilized provided it is determined that:
- Such indirect cost rate differs significantly from that which
would have obtained under (1) above; and
- The volume of research work to which such rate would apply
is material in relation to other government research at the institution.
- It is a common practice for grants or contracts awarded to
other institutions, typically University Schools of Medicine,
to be performed on hospital premises. In these cases the hospital
should develop a separate indirect cost pool applicable to the
work under such grants or contracts. This pool should be developed
by a selective distribution of only those indirect cost categories
which benefit the work performed by the other institution, within
the practical limits dictated by available data and the materiality
of the amounts involved. Hospital costs determined to be allocable
to grants or contracts awarded to another institution may not
be recovered as a cost of grants or contracts awarded directly
to the hospital.
- The distribution base. Preferably, indirect costs allocated
to organized research should be distributed to applicable research
agreements on the basis of direct salaries and wages. However,
where the use of salaries and wages results in an inequitable
allocation of costs to the research agreements, total direct costs
or a variation thereof, may be used in lieu of salaries and wages.
Regardless of the base used, an indirect cost rate should be determined
for each of the separate indirect cost pools developed pursuant
to paragraph VII - A. The rate in each case should be stated as
the percentage which the amount of the particular indirect cost
pool is of the total direct salaries and wages (or other base
selected) for all research agreements identified with such a pool.
- Negotiated lump sum for overhead. A negotiated fixed amount
in lieu of indirect costs may be appropriate for self-contained
or off-campus research activities where the benefits derived from
a hospital's indirect services cannot be readily determined. Such
amount negotiated in lieu of indirect costs will be treated as
an offset to the appropriate indirect cost pool after allocation
to patient care, organized research, instruction and training,
and other hospital activities. The base on which such remaining
expenses are allocated should be appropriately adjusted.
- Predetermined overhead rates. The utilization of predetermined
fixed overhead rates may offer potential advantages in the administration
of research agreements by facilitating the preparation of research
budgets and permitting more expeditious close out of the agreements
when the work is completed. Therefore, to the extent allowed by
law, consideration may be given to the negotiation of predetermined
fixed rates in those situations where the cost experience and
other pertinent factors available are deemed sufficient to enable
the Government and the hospital to reach a reasonable conclusion
as to the probable level of the indirect cost rate for the ensuing
accounting period.
VIII. Simplified Method for Small Institutions
- General.
- Where the total direct cost of all government-sponsored research
and development work at a hospital in a year is minimal, the use
of the abbreviated procedure described in paragraph VIII - B below
may be acceptable in the determination of allowable indirect costs.
This method may also be used to initially determine a provisional
indirect cost rate for hospitals that have not previously established
a rate. Under this abbreviated procedure, data taken directly
from the institution's most recent annual financial report and
immediately available supporting information will be utilized
as a basis for determining the indirect cost rate applicable to
research agreements at the institution.
- The rigid formula approach provided under the abbreviated
procedure has limitations which may preclude its use at some hospitals
either because the minimum data required for this purpose are
not readily available or because the application of the abbreviated
procedure to the available data produces results which appear
inequitable to the Government or the hospital. In any such case,
indirect costs should be determined through use of the regular
procedure rather than the abbreviated procedure.
- In certain instances where the total direct cost of all government-sponsored
research and development work at the hospital is more than minimal,
the abbreviated procedure may be used if prior permission is obtained.
This alternative will be granted only in those cases where it
can be demonstrated that the step-down technique cannot be followed.
- Abbreviated procedure.
- Total expenditures as taken from the most recent annual financial
report will be adjusted by eliminating from further consideration
expenditures for capital items as defined in paragraph IX - B.4
and unallowable costs as defined under various headings in paragraph
IX and paragraph III - E.
- Total expenditures as adjusted under the foregoing will then
be distributed among (a) expenditures applicable to administrative
and general overhead functions, (b) expenditures applicable to
all other overhead functions, and (c) expenditures for all other
purposes. The first group shall include amounts associated with
the functional categories, Administration and General, and Dietary,
as defined in paragraph VI. The second group shall include Depreciation,
Operation of Plant, Maintenance of Plant, and Housekeeping. The
third group -- expenditures for all other purposes -- shall include
the amounts applicable to all other activities, namely, patient
care, organized research, instruction and training, and other
hospital activities as defined under paragraph II - E. For the
purposes of this section, the functional categories of Laundry
and Linen, Maintenance of Personnel, and Medical Records and Library
as defined in paragraph VI shall be considered as expenditures
for all other purposes.
- The expenditures distributed to the first two groups in paragraph
VIII - B.2 should then be adjusted by those receipts or negative
expenditure types of transactions which tend to reduce expense
items allocable to research agreements as indirect costs. Examples
of such receipts or negative expenditures are itemized in paragraph
III - E.1.
- In applying the procedures in paragraphs VIII - B.1 and B.2,
the cost of unallowable activities such as Gift Shop, Investment
Property Management, Fund Raising, and Public Relations, when
they benefit from the hospital's indirect cost services, should
be treated as expenditures for all other purposes. Such activities
are presumed to benefit from the hospital's indirect cost services
when they include salaries of personnel working in the hospital.
When they do not include such salaries, they should be eliminated
from the indirect cost rate computation.
- The indirect cost rate will then be computed in two stages.
The first stage requires the computation of an Administrative
and General rate component. This is done by applying a ratio of
research direct costs over total direct costs to the Administrative
and General pool developed under paragraphs VIII - B.2 and B.3
above. The resultant amount -- that which is allocable to research
-- is divided by the direct research cost base. The second stage
requires the computation of an All Other Indirect Cost rate component.
This is done by applying a ratio of research direct space over
total direct space to All Other Indirect Cost pool developed under
paragraphs VIII - B.2 and B.3 above. The resultant amount -- that
which is allocable to research -- is divided by the direct research
cost base.
The total of the two rate components will be the institution's
indirect cost rate. For the purposes of this section, the research
direct cost or space and total direct cost or space will be that
cost or space identified with the functional categories classified
under Expenditures for all other purposes under paragraph VIII
- B.2.
IX. General Standards for Selected Items of Cost
- General. This section provides standards to be applied in
establishing the allowability of certain items involved in determining
cost. These standards should apply irrespective of whether a particular
item of cost is properly treated as direct cost or indirect cost.
Failure to mention a particular item of cost in the standards
is not intended to imply that it is either allowable or unallowable;
rather, determination as to allowability in each case should be
based on the treatment or standards provided for similar or related
items of cost. In case of discrepancy between the provisions of
a specific research agreement and the applicable standards provided,
the provisions of the research agreement should govern. However,
in some cases advance understandings should be reached on particular
cost items in order that the full costs of research be supported.
The extent of allowability of the selected items of cost covered
in this section has been stated to apply broadly to many accounting
systems in varying environmental situations. Thus, as to any given
research agreement, the reasonableness and allocability of certain
items of costs may be difficult to determine, particularly in
connection with hospitals which have medical school or other affiliations.
In order to avoid possible subsequent disallowance or dispute
based on unreasonableness or nonallocability, it is important
that prospective recipients of federal funds particularly those
whose work is predominantly or substantially with the Government,
seek agreement with the Government in advance of the incurrence
of special or unusual costs in categories where reasonableness
or allocability are difficult to determine. Such agreement may
also be initiated by the Government. Any such agreement should
be incorporated in the research agreement itself. However, the
absence of such an advance agreement on any element of cost will
not in itself serve to make that element either allowable or unallowable.
Examples of costs on which advance agreements may be particularly
important are:
- Facilities costs, such as;
- Depreciation
- Rental
- Use charges for fully depreciated assets
- Idle facilities and idle capacity
- Plant reconversion
- Extraordinary or deferred maintenance and repair
- Acquisition of automatic data processing equipment.
- Preaward costs
- Non-hospital professional activities
- Self-insurance
- Support services charged directly (computer services, printing
and duplicating services, etc.)
- Employee compensation, travel, and other personnel costs,
including;
- Compensation for personal service, including wages and salaries,
bonuses and incentives, premium payments, pay for time not worked,
and supplementary compensation and benefits, such as pension and
retirement, group insurance, severance pay plans, and other forms
of compensation
- Morale, health, welfare, and food service and dormitory costs
- Training and education costs
- Relocation costs, including special or mass personnel movement
- Selected items --
- Advertising costs. The term advertising costs means the costs
of advertising media and corollary administrative costs. Advertising
media include magazines, newspapers, radio and television programs,
direct mail, exhibits, and the like. The only advertising costs
allowable are those which are solely for;
- The recruitment of persons required for the performance by
the institution of obligations arising under the research agreement,
when considered in conjunction with all other recruitment costs
as set forth in paragraph IX - B.34.
- The procurement of scarce items for the performance of the
research agreement; or
- The disposal of scrap or surplus materials acquired in the
performance of the research agreement. Costs of this nature, if
incurred for more than one research agreement or for both research
agreement work and other work of the institution, are allowable
to the extent that the principles in paragraphs IV and V are observed.
- Bad debts. Losses arising from uncollectible accounts and
other claims and related collection and legal costs are unallowable
except that a bad debt may be included as a direct cost of the
research agreement to the extent that it is caused by a research
patient and approved by the awarding agency. This inclusion is
only intended to cover the situation of the patient admitted for
research purposes who subsequently or in conjunction with the
research receives clinical care for which a charge is made to
the patient. If, after exhausting all means of collecting these
charges, a bad debt results, it may be considered an appropriate
charge to the research agreement.
- Bonding costs.
- Bonding costs arise when the Government requires assurance
against financial loss to itself or others by reason of the act
or default of the hospital. They arise also in instances where
the hospital requires similar assurance.
Included are such types as bid, performance, payment, advance
payment, infringement, and fidelity bonds.
- Costs of bonding required pursuant to the terms of the research
agreement are allowable.
- Costs of bonding required by the hospital in the general conduct
of its business are allowable to the extent that such bonding
is in accordance with sound business practice and the rates and
premiums are reasonable under the circumstances.
- Capital expenditures. The costs of equipment, buildings, and
repairs which materially increase the value or useful life of
buildings or equipment should be capitalized and are unallowable
except as provided for in the research agreement.
- Civil defense costs. Civil defense costs are those incurred
in planning for, and the protection of life and property against
the possible effects of enemy attack. Reasonable costs of civil
defense measures (including costs in excess of normal plant protection
costs, first-aid training and supplies, fire-fighting training,
posting of additional exit notices and directions, and other approved
civil defense measures) undertaken on the institution's premises
pursuant to suggestions or requirements of civil defense authorities
are allowable when distributed to all activities of the institution.
Capital expenditures for civil defense purposes will not be allowed,
but a use allowance or depreciation may be permitted in accordance
with provisions set forth elsewhere. Costs of local civil defense
projects not on the institution's premises are unallowable.
- Communication costs. Costs incurred for telephone services,
local and long distance telephone calls, telegrams, radiograms,
postage, and the like are allowable.
- Compensation for personal services --
- General. Compensation for personal services covers all remuneration
paid currently or accrued to employees of the hospital for services
rendered during the period of performance under government research
agreements. Such remuneration includes salaries, wages, staff
benefits (see paragraph IX - B.10), and pension plan costs (see
paragraph IX - B.25). The costs of such remuneration are allowable
to the extent that the total compensation to individual employees
is reasonable for the services rendered and conforms to the established
policy of the institution consistently applied, and provided that
the charges for work performed directly on government research
agreements and for other work allocable as indirect costs to sponsored
research are determined and supported as hereinafter provided.
For non-profit, non-proprietary institutions, where federally
supported programs constitute less than a preponderance of the
activity at the institution the primary test of reasonableness
will be to require that the institution's compensation policies
be applied consistently both to federally-sponsored and non-sponsored
activities alike. However, where special circumstances so dictate
a contractual clause may be utilized which calls for application
of the test of comparability in determining the reasonableness
of compensation.
- Payroll distribution. Amounts charged to organized research
for personal services, regardless of whether treated as direct
costs or allocated as indirect costs, will be based on hospital
payrolls which have been approved and documented in accordance
with generally accepted hospital practices. In order to develop
necessary direct and indirect allocations of cost, supplementary
data on time or effort as provided in paragraph (c) below, normally
need be required only for individuals whose compensation is properly
chargeable to two or more research agreements or to two or more
of the following broad functional categories: (1) Patient care;
(2) organized research; (3) instruction and training; (4) indirect
activities as defined in paragraph V - A; or (5) other hospital
activities as defined in paragraph II - E.
- Reporting time or effort. Charges for salaries and wages of
individuals other than members of the professional staff will
be supported by daily time and attendance and payroll distribution
records. For members of the professional staff, current and reasonable
estimates of the percentage distribution of their total effort
may be used as support in the absence of actual time records.
The term professional staff for purposes of this section includes
physicians, research associates, and other personnel performing
work at responsible levels of activities. These personnel normally
fulfill duties, the competent performance of which usually requires
persons possessing degrees from accredited institutions of higher
learning and/or state licensure. In order to qualify as current
and reasonable, estimates must be made no later than one month
(though not necessarily a calendar month) after the month in which
the services were performed.
- Preparation of estimates of effort. Where required under paragraph
(c) above, estimates of effort spent by a member of the professional
staff on each research agreement should be prepared by the individual
who performed the services or by a responsible individual such
as a department head or supervisor having first-hand knowledge
of the services performed on each research agreement. Estimates
must show the allocation of effort between organized research
and all other hospital activities in terms of the percentage of
total effort devoted to each of the broad functional categories
referred to in (b) above. The estimate of effort spent on a research
agreement may include a reasonable amount of time spent in activities
contributing and intimately related to work under the agreement,
such as preparing and delivering special lectures about specific
aspects of the ongoing research, writing research reports and
articles, participating in appropriate research seminars, consulting
with colleagues with respect to related research, and attending
appropriate scientific meetings and conferences. The term ``all
other hospital activities'' would include departmental research,
administration, committee work, and public services undertaken
on behalf of the hospital.
- Application of budget estimates. Estimates determined before
the performance of services, such as budget estimates on a monthly,
quarterly, or yearly basis do not qualify as estimates of effort
spent.
- Non-hospital professional activities. A hospital must not
alter or waive hospital-wide policies and practices dealing with
the permissible extent of professional services over and above
those traditionally performed without extra hospital compensation,
unless such arrangements are specifically authorized by the sponsoring
agency. Where hospital-wide policies do not adequately define
the permissible extent of consultantships or other non-hospital
activities undertaken for extra pay, the Government may require
that the effort of professional staff working under research agreements
be allocated as between (1) hospital activities, and (2) non-hospital
professional activities. If the sponsoring agency should consider
the extent of non-hospital professional effort excessive, appropriate
arrangements governing compensation will be negotiated on a case
by case basis.
- Salary rates for part-time appointments. Charges for work
performed on government research by staff members having only
part-time appointments will be determined at a rate not in excess
of that for which he is regularly paid for his part-time staff
assignment.
- Contingency provisions. Contributions to a contingency reserve
or any similar provisions made for events the occurrence of which
cannot be foretold with certainty as to time, intensity, or with
an assurance of their happening, are unallowable.
- Depreciation and use allowances.
- Hospitals may be compensated for the use of buildings, capital
improvements and usable equipment on hand through depreciation
or use allowances. Depreciation is a charge to current operations
which distributes the cost of a tangible capital asset, less estimated
residual value, over the estimated useful life of the asset in
a systematic and logical manner. It does not involve a process
of valuation. Useful life has reference to the prospective period
of economic usefulness in the particular hospital's operations
as distinguished from physical life. Use allowances are the means
of allowing compensation when depreciation or other equivalent
costs are not considered.
- Due consideration will be given to government-furnished research
facilities utilized by the institution when computing use allowances
and/or depreciation if the government-furnished research facilities
are material in amount. Computation of the use allowance and/or
depreciation will exclude both the cost or any portion of the
cost of grounds, buildings and equipment borne by or donated by
the Federal Government, irrespective of where title was originally
vested or where it presently resides, and secondly, the cost of
grounds. Capital expenditures for land improvements (paved areas,
fences, streets, sidewalks, utility conduits, and similar improvements
not already included in the cost of buildings) are allowable provided
the systematic amortization of such capital expenditures has been
provided in the institution's books of accounts, based on reasonable
determinations of the probable useful lives of the individual
items involved, and the share allocated to organized research
is developed from the amount thus amortized for the base period
involved.
- Normal depreciation on a hospital's plant, equipment, and
other capital facilities, except as excluded by (d) below, is
an allowable element of research cost provided that the amount
thereof is computed:
- Upon the property cost basis used by the hospital for Federal
Income Tax purposes (See section 167 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1954); or
- In the case of non-profit or tax exempt organizations, upon
a property cost basis which could have been used by the hospital
for Federal Income Tax purposes, had such hospital been subject
to the payment of income tax; and in either case
- By the consistent application to the assets concerned of any
generally accepted accounting method, and subject to the limitations
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as amended, including --
- The straight line method;
- The declining balance method, using a rate not exceeding twice
the rate which would have been used had the annual allowance been
computed under the method described in (i) above;
- The sum of the years-digits method; and
- Any other consistent method productive of an annual allowance
which, when added to all allowances for the period commencing
with the use of the property and including the current year, does
not during the first two-thirds of the useful life of the property
exceed the total of such allowances which would have been used
had such allowances been computed under the method described in
(ii) above.
- Where the depreciation method is followed, adequate property
records must be maintained. The period of useful service (service
life) established in each case for usable capital assets must
be determined on a realistic basis which takes into consideration
such factors as type of construction, nature of the equipment
used, technological developments in the particular research area,
and the renewal and replacement policies followed for the individual
items or classes of assets involved. Where the depreciation method
is introduced for application to assets acquired in prior years,
the annual charges therefrom must not exceed the amounts that
would have resulted had the depreciation method been in effect
from the date of acquisition of such assets.
- Depreciation on idle or excess facilities shall not be allowed
except on such facilities as are reasonably necessary for standby
purposes.
- Where an institution elects to go on a depreciation basis
for a particular class of assets, no depreciation, rental or use
charge may be allowed on any such assets that would be viewed
as fully depreciated; provided, however, that reasonable use charges
may be negotiated for any such assets if warranted after taking
into consideration the cost of the facility or item involved,
the estimated useful life remaining at time of negotiation, the
actual replacement policy followed in the light of service lives
used for calculating depreciation, the effect of any increased
maintenance charges or decreased efficiency due to age, and any
other factors pertinent to the utilization of the facility or
item for the purpose contemplated.
- Hospitals which choose a depreciation allowance for assets
purchased prior to 1966 based on a percentage of operating costs
in lieu of normal depreciation for purposes of reimbursement under
Pub. L. 89 - 97 (Medicare) shall utilize that method for determining
depreciation applicable to organized research.
The operating costs to be used are the lower of the hospital's
1965 operating costs or the hospital's current year's allowable
costs. The percent to be applied is 5 percent starting with the
year 1966 - 67, with such percentage being uniformity reduced
by one-half percent each succeeding year. The allowance based
on operating costs is in addition to regular depreciation on assets
acquired after 1965. However, the combined amount of such allowance
on pre-1966 assets and the allowance for actual depreciation on
assets acquired after 1965 may not exceed 6 percent of the hospital's
allowable cost for the current year. After total depreciation
has been computed, allocation methods are used to determine the
share attributable to organized research.
For purposes of this section, Operating Costs means the total
costs incurred by the hospital in operating the institution, and
includes patient care, research, and other activities. Allowable
Costs means operating costs less unallowable costs as defined
in these principles; by the application of allocation methods
to the total amount of such allowable costs, the share attributable
to Federally-sponsored research is determined.
A hospital which elects to use this procedure under Pub. L. 89
- 97 and subsequently changes to an actual depreciation basis
on pre-1966 assets in accordance with the option afforded under
the Medicare program shall simultaneously change to an actual
depreciation basis for organized research.
Where the hospital desires to change to actual depreciation but
either has no historical cost records or has incomplete records,
the determination of historical cost could be made through appropriate
means involving expert consultation with the determination being
subject to review and approval by the Department of Health and
Human Services.
- Where the use allowance method is followed, the use allowance
for buildings and improvements will be computed at an annual rate
not exceeding two percent of acquisition cost. The use allowance
for equipment will be computed at an annual rate not exceeding
six and two-thirds percent of acquisition cost of usable equipment
in those cases where the institution maintains current records
with respect to such equipment on hand. Where the institution's
records reflect only the cost (actual or estimated) of the original
complement of equipment, the use allowance will be computed at
an annual rate not exceeding ten percent of such cost. Original
complement for this purpose means the complement of equipment
initially placed in buildings to perform the functions currently
being performed in such buildings; however, where a permanent
change in the function of a building takes place, a redetermination
of the original complement of equipment may be made at that time
to establish a new original complement. In those cases where no
equipment records are maintained, the institution will justify
a reasonable estimate of the acquisition cost of usable equipment
which may be used to compute the use allowance at an annual rate
not exceeding six and two-thirds percent of such estimate.
- Depreciation and/or use charges should usually be allocated
to research and other activities as an indirect cost.
- Employee morale, health, and welfare costs and credits. The
costs of house publications, health or first-aid benefits, recreational
activities, employees' counseling services, and other expenses
incurred in accordance with the hospital's established practice
or custom for the improvement of working conditions, employer-employee
relations, employee morale, and employee performance, are allowable.
Such costs will be equitably apportioned to all activities of
the hospital. Income generated from any of these activities will
be credited to the cost thereof unless such income has been irrevocably
set over to employee welfare organizations.
- Entertainment costs. Except as pertains to 10 above, costs
incurred for amusement, social activities, entertainment, and
any items relating thereto, such as meals, lodging, rentals, transportation,
and gratuities are unallowable.
- Equipment and other facilities. The cost of equipment or other
facilities are allowable on a direct charge basis where such purchases
are approved by the sponsoring agency concerned or provided for
by the terms of the research agreement.
- Fines and penalties. Costs resulting from violations of, or
failure of the institution to comply with federal, state and local
laws and regulations are unallowable except when incurred as a
result of compliance with specific provisions of the research
agreement, or instructions in writing from the awarding agency.
- Insurance and indemnification.
- Costs of insurance required or approved and maintained pursuant
to the research agreement are allowable.
- Costs of other insurance maintained by the hospital in connection
with the general conduct of its activities are allowable subject
to the following limitations:
- Types and extent and cost of coverage must be in accordance
with sound institutional practice;
- costs of insurance or of any contributions to any reserve
covering the risk of loss of or damage to government owned property
are unallowable except to the extent that the Government has specifically
required or approved such costs;
- costs of insurance on the lives of officers or trustees are
unallowable except where such insurance is part of an employee
plan which is not unduly restricted.
- Contributions to a reserve for an approved self-insurance
program are allowable to the extent that the types of coverage,
extent of coverage, and the rates and premiums would have been
allowed had insurance been purchased to cover the risks. Such
contributions are subject to prior approval of the Government.
- Actual losses which could have been covered by permissible
insurance (through an approved self-insurance program or otherwise)
are unallowable unless expressly provided for in the research
agreement, except that costs incurred because of losses not covered
under nominal deductible insurance coverage provided in keeping
with sound management practice as well as minor losses not covered
by insurance such as spoilage, breakage and disappearance of small
hand tools which occur in the ordinary course of operations are
allowable.
- Interest, fund raising and investment management costs.
- Costs incurred for interest on borrowed capital or temporary
use of endowment funds, however represented, are unallowable.
- Costs of organized fund raising, including financial campaigns,
endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar
expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions
are not allowable.
- Costs of investment counsel and staff and similar expenses
incurred solely to enhance income from investments are not allowable.
- Costs related to the physical custody and control of monies
and securities are allowable.
- Labor relations costs. Costs incurred in maintaining satisfactory
relations between the hospital and its employees, including costs
of labor management committees, employees' publications, and other
related activities are allowable.
- Losses on research agreements or contracts. Any excess of
costs over income under any agreement or contract of any nature
is unallowable. This includes, but is not limited to, the hospital's
contributed portion by reason of cost-sharing agreements, under-recoveries
through negotiation of flat amounts for overhead, or legal or
administrative limitations.
- Maintenance and repair costs.
- Costs necessary for the upkeep of property (including government
property unless otherwise provided for), which neither add to
the permanent value of the property nor appreciably prolong its
intended life, but keep it in an efficient operating condition,
are to be treated as follows:
- Normal maintenance and repair costs are allowable;
- Extraordinary maintenance and repair costs are allowable,
provided they are allocated to the periods to which applicable
for purposes of determining research costs.
- Expenditures for plant and equipment, including rehabilitation
thereof, which according to generally accepted accounting principles
as applied under the hospital's established policy, should be
capitalized and subjected to depreciation, are allowable only
on a depreciation basis.
- Material costs. Costs incurred for purchased materials, supplies
and fabricated parts directly or indirectly related to the research
agreement, are allowable. Purchases made specifically for the
research agreement should be charged thereto at their actual prices
after deducting all cash discounts, trade discounts, rebates,
and allowances received by the institution. Withdrawals from general
stores or stockrooms should be charged at their cost under any
recognized method of pricing stores withdrawals conforming to
sound accounting practices consistently followed by the hospital.
Incoming transportation charges are a proper part of material
cost. Direct material cost should include only the materials and
supplies actually used for the performance of the research agreement,
and due credit should be given for any excess materials retained
or returned to vendors. Due credit should be given for all proceeds
or value received for any scrap resulting from work under the
research agreement. Where government donated or furnished material
is used in performing the research agreement, such material will
be used without charge.
- Memberships, subscriptions and professional activity costs.
- Costs of the hospital's membership in civic, business, technical
and professional organizations are allowable.
- Costs of the hospital's subscriptions to civic, business,
professional and technical periodicals are allowable.
- Costs of meetings and conferences, when the primary purpose
is the dissemination of technical information, are allowable.
This includes costs of meals, transportation, rental of facilities,
and other items incidental to such meetings or conferences.
- Organization costs. Expenditures such as incorporation fees,
attorneys' fees, accountants' fees, brokers' fees, fees to promoters
and organizers in connection with (a) organization or reorganization
of a hospital, or (b) raising capital, are unallowable.
- Other business expenses. Included in this item are such recurring
expenses as registry and transfer charges resulting from changes
in ownership of securities issued by the hospital, cost of shareholders
meetings preparation and publication of reports to shareholders,
preparation and submission of required reports and forms to taxing
and other regulatory bodies, and incidental costs of directors
and committee meetings. The above and similar costs are allowable
when allocated on an equitable basis.
- Patient care. The cost of routine and ancillary or special
services to research patients is an allowable direct cost of research
agreements.
- Routine services shall include the costs of the regular room,
dietary and nursing services, minor medical and surgical supplies
and the use of equipment and facilities for which a separate charge
is not customarily made.
- Ancillary or special services are the services for which charges
are customarily made in addition to routine services, such as
operating rooms, anesthesia, laboratory, BMR-EKG, etc.
- Patient care, whether expressed as a rate or an amount, shall
be computed in a manner consistent with the procedures used to
determine reimbursable costs under Pub. L. 89 - 97 (Medicare Program)
as defined under the ``Principles Of Reimbursement For Provider
Costs'' published by the Social Security Administration of the
Department of Health and Human Services. The allowability of specific
categories of cost shall be in accordance with those principles
rather than the principles for research contained herein. In the
absence of participation in the Medicare program by a hospital,
all references to the Medicare program in these principles shall
be construed as meaning the Medicaid program.
- Once costs have been recognized as allowable, the indirect
costs or general service center's cost shall be allocated (stepped-down)
to special service centers, and all patient and nonpatient costs
centers based upon actual services received or benefiting these
centers.
- After allocation, routine and ancillary costs shall be apportioned
to scatter-bed research patients on the same basis as is used
to apportion costs to Medicare patients, i.e. using either the
departmental method or the combination method, as those methods
are defined by the Social Security Administration; except that
final settlement shall be on a grant-by-grant basis. However,
to the extent that the Social Security Administration has recognized
any other method of cost apportionment, that method generally
shall also be recognized as applicable to the determination of
research patient care costs.
- A cost center must be established on Medicare reimbursement
forms for each discrete-bed unit grant award received by a hospital.
Routine costs should be stepped-down to this line item(s) in the
normal course of stepping-down costs under Medicare/Medicaid requirements.
However, in stepping-down routine costs, consideration must be
given to preventing a step-down of those costs to discrete-bed
unit line items that have already been paid for directly by the
grant, such as bedside nursing costs. Ancillary costs allocable
to research discrete-bed units shall be determined and proposed
in accordance with Section 23.c.ii.
- Where federally sponsored research programs provide specifically
for the direct reimbursement of nursing, dietary, and other services,
appropriate adjustment must be made to patient care costs to preclude
duplication and/or misallocation of costs.
- Patent costs. Costs of preparing disclosures, reports and
other documents required by the research agreement and of searching
the art to the extent necessary to make such invention disclosures
are allowable. In accordance with the clauses of the research
agreement relating to patents, costs of preparing documents and
any other patent costs, in connection with the filing of a patent
application where title is conveyed to the Government, are allowable.
(See also paragraph IX - B.36.)
- Pension plan costs. Costs of the hospital's pension plan which
are incurred in accordance with the established policies of the
institution are allowable, provided such policies meet the test
of reasonableness and the methods of cost allocation are not discriminatory,
and provided appropriate adjustments are made for credits or gains
arising out of normal and abnormal employee turnover or any other
contingencies that can result in forfeitures by employees which
inure to the benefit of the hospital.
- Plan security costs. Necessary expenses incurred to comply
with government security requirements including wages, uniforms
and equipment of personnel engaged in plant protection are allowable.
- Preresearch agreement costs. Costs incurred prior to the effective
date of the research agreement, whether or not they would have
been allowable thereunder if incurred after such date, are unallowable
unless specifically set forth and identified in the research agreement.
- Professional services costs.
- Costs of professional services rendered by the members of
a particular profession who are not employees of the hospital
are allowable subject to (b) and (c) below when reasonable in
relation to the services rendered and when not contingent upon
recovery of the costs from the Government. Retainer fees to be
allowable must be reasonably supported by evidence of services
rendered.
- Factors to be considered in determining the allowability of
costs in a particular case include (1) the past pattern of such
costs, particularly in the years prior to the award of government
research agreements on the institution's total activity; (2) the
nature and scope of managerial services expected of the institution's
own organizations; and (3) whether the proportion of government
work to the hospital's total activity is such as to influence
the institution in favor of incurring the cost, particularly where
the services rendered are not of a continuing nature and have
little relationship to work under government research agreements.
- Costs of legal, accounting and consulting services, and related
costs incurred in connection with organization and reorganization
or the prosecution of claims against the Government are unallowable.
Costs of legal, accounting and consulting services, and related
costs incurred in connection with patent infringement litigation
are unallowable unless otherwise provided for in the research
agreement.
- Profits and losses on disposition of plant equipment, or other
assets. Profits or losses of any nature arising from the sale
or exchange of plant, equipment, or other capital assets, including
sales or exchange of either short- or long-term investments, shall
be excluded in computing research agreement costs.
- Proposal costs. Proposal costs are the costs of preparing
bids or proposals on potential government and non-government research
agreements or projects, including the development of technical
data and cost data necessary to support the institution's bids
or proposals. Proposal costs of the current accounting period
of both successful and unsuccessful bids and proposals normally
should be treated as indirect costs and allocated currently to
all activities of the institution, and no proposal costs of past
accounting periods will be allocable in the current period to
the government research agreement. However, the institution's
established practices may be to treat proposal costs by some other
recognized method. Regardless of the methods used, the results
obtained may be accepted only if found to be reasonable and equitable.
- Public information services costs. Costs of news releases
pertaining to specific research or scientific accomplishment are
unallowable unless specifically authorized by the sponsoring agency.
- Rearrangement and alteration costs. Costs incurred for ordinary
or normal rearrangement and alteration of facilities are allowable.
Special rearrangement and alteration costs incurred specifically
for a project are allowable only as a direct charge when such
work has been approved in advance by the sponsoring agency concerned.
- Reconversion costs. Costs incurred in the restoration or rehabilitation
of the institution's facilities to approximately the same condition
existing immediately prior to commencement of government research
agreement work, fair wear and tear excepted, are allowable.
- Recruiting costs.
- Subject to (b), (c), and (d) below, and provided that the
size of the staff recruited and maintained is in keeping with
workload requirements, costs of ``help wanted'' advertising, operating
costs of an employment office necessary to secure and maintain
an adequate staff, costs of operating an aptitude and educational
testing program, travel costs of employees while engaged in recruiting
personnel, travel costs of applicants for interviews for prospective
employment, and relocation costs incurred incident to recruitment
of new employees are allowable to the extent that such costs are
incurred pursuant to a well managed recruitment program. Where
an institution uses employment agencies, costs not in excess of
standard commercial rates for such services are allowable.
- In publications, costs of help wanted advertising that includes
color, includes advertising material for other than recruitment
purposes, or is excessive in size (taking into consideration recruitment
purposes for which intended and normal institutional practices
in this respect) are unallowable.
- Costs of help wanted advertising, special emoluments; fringe
benefits, and salary allowances incurred to attract professional
personnel from other institutions that do not meet the test of
reasonableness or do not conform with the established practices
of the institution are unallowable.
- Where relocation costs incurred incident to recruitment of
a new employee have been allowed either as an allocable direct
or indirect cost, and the newly hired employee resigns for reasons
within his control within twelve months after hire, the institution
will be required to refund or credit such relocations costs as
were charged to the Government.
- Rental costs (including sale and lease-back of facilities).
- Rental costs of land, building, and equipment and other personal
property are allowable if the rates are reasonable in light of
such factors as rental costs of comparable facilities and market
conditions in the area, the type, life expectancy, condition,
and value of the facilities leased, options available, and other
provisions of the rental agreement. Application of these factors,
in situations where rentals are extensively used, may involve
among other considerations comparison of rental costs with the
amount which the hospital would have received had it owned the
facilities.
- Charges in the nature of rent between organizations having
a legal or other affiliation or arrangement such as hospitals,
medical schools, foundations, etc., are allowable to the extent
such charges do not exceed the normal costs of ownership such
as depreciation, taxes, insurance, and maintenance, provided that
no part of such costs shall duplicate any other allowed costs.
- Unless otherwise specifically provided in the agreement, rental
costs specified in sale and lease-back agreements incurred by
hospitals through selling plant facilities to investment organizations
such as insurance companies or to private investors, and concurrently
leasing back the same facilities are allowable only to the extent
that such rentals do not exceed the amount which the hospital
would have received had it retained legal title to the facilities.
- Royalties and other costs for use of patents. Royalties on
a patent or amortization of the cost of acquiring a patent or
invention or rights thereto necessary for the proper performance
of the research agreement and applicable to tasks or processes
thereunder are allowable unless the Government has a license or
the right to free use of the patent, the patent has been adjudicated
to be invalid, or has been administratively determined to be invalid,
the patent is considered to be unenforceable, or the patent has
expired.
- Severance pay.
- Severance pay is compensation in addition to regular salaries
and wages which is paid by a hospital to employees whose services
are being terminated. Costs of severance pay are allowable only
to the extent that such payments are required by law, by employer-employee
agreement, by established policy that constitutes in effect an
implied agreement on the institution's part, or by circumstances
of the particular employment.
- Severance payments that are due to normal, recurring turnover,
and which otherwise meet the conditions of (a) above may be allowed
provided the actual costs of such severance payments are regarded
as expenses applicable to the current fiscal year and are equitably
distributed among the institution's activities during that period.
- Severance payments that are due to abnormal or mass terminations
are of such conjectural nature that allowability must be determined
on a case-by-case basis. However, the Government recognizes its
obligation to participate to the extent of its fair share in any
specific payment.
- Specialized service facilities operated by a hospital.
- The costs of institutional services involving the use of highly
complex and specialized facilities such as electronic computers
and reactors are allowable provided the charges therefor meet
the conditions of (b) or (c) below, and otherwise take into account
any items of income or federal financing that qualify as applicable
credits under paragraph III - E.
- The costs of such hospital services normally will be charged
directly to applicable research agreements based on actual usage
or occupancy of the facilities at rates that (1) are designed
to recover only actual costs of providing such services, and (2)
are applied on a nondiscriminatory basis as between organized
research and other work of the hospital including commercial or
accommodation sales and usage by the hospital for internal purposes.
This would include use of such facilities as radiology, laboratories,
maintenance men used for a special purpose, medical art, photography,
etc.
- In the absence of an acceptable arrangement for direct costing
as provided in (b) above, the costs incurred for such institutional
services may be assigned to research agreements as indirect costs,
provided the methods used achieve substantially the same results.
Such arrangements should be worked out in coordination with all
government users of the facilities in order to assure equitable
distribution of the indirect costs.
- Special administrative costs. Costs incurred for general public
relations activities, catalogs, alumni activities, and similar
services are unallowable.
- Staff and/or employee benefits.
- Staff and/or employee benefits in the form of regular compensation
paid to employees during periods of authorized absences from the
job such as for annual leave, sick leave, military leave and the
like are allowable provided such costs are absorbed by all hospital
activities including organized research in proportion to the relative
amount of time or effort actually devoted to each.
- Staff benefits in the form of employer contributions or expenses
for Social Security taxes, employee insurance, Workmen's Compensation
insurance, the Pension Plan (see paragraph IX - B.25), hospital
costs or remission of hospital charges to the extent of costs
for individual employees or their families, and the like are allowable
provided such benefits are granted in accordance with established
hospital policies, and provided such contributions and other expenses
whether treated as indirect costs or an increment of direct labor
costs are distributed to particular research agreements and other
activities in a manner consistent with the pattern of benefits
accruing to the individuals or groups of employees whose salaries
and wages are chargeable to such research agreements and other
activities.
- Taxes.
- In general, taxes which the hospital is required to pay and
which are paid or accrued in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles, and payments made to local governments
in lieu of taxes which are commensurate with the local government
services received are allowable except for (1) taxes from which
exemptions are available to the hospital directly or which are
available to the hospital based on an exemption afforded the Government
and in the latter case when the sponsoring agency makes available
the necessary exemption certificates, (2) special assessments
on land which represent capital improvements, and (3) Federal
Income Taxes.
- Any refund of taxes, interest, or penalties, and any payment
to the hospital of interest thereon attributable to taxes, interest
or penalties, which were allowed as research agreement costs will
be credited or paid to the Government in the manner directed by
the Government provided any interest actually paid or credited
to a hospital incident to a refund of tax, interest, and penalty
will be paid or credited to the Government only to the extent
that such interest accrued over the period during which the hospital
had been reimbursed by the Government for the taxes, interest,
and penalties.
- Transportation costs. Costs incurred for inbound freight,
express, cartage, postage and other transportation services relating
either to goods purchased, in process, or delivered are allowable.
When such costs can readily be identified with the items involved,
they may be charged directly as transportation costs or added
to the cost of such items. Where identification with the material
received cannot readily be made, inbound transportation costs
may be charged to the appropriate indirect cost accounts if the
institution follows a consistent equitable procedure in this respect.
Outbound freight, if reimbursable under the terms of the research
agreement, should be treated as a direct cost.
- Travel costs.
- Travel costs are the expenses for transportation, lodging,
subsistence, and related items incurred by employees who are in
travel status on official business of the hospital. Such costs
may be charged on an actual basis, on a per diem or mileage basis
in lieu of actual costs incurred, or on a combination of the two
provided the method used is applied to an entire trip and not
to selected days of the trip, and results in charges consistent
with those normally allowed by the institution in its regular
operations.
- Travel costs are allowable subject to (c) and (d) below when
they are directly attributable to specific work under a research
agreement or when they are incurred in the normal course of administration
of the hospital or a department or research program thereof.
- The difference in cost between first class air accommodations
and less than first class air accommodations is unallowable except
when less than first class air accommodations are not reasonably
available to meet necessary mission requirements such as where
less than first class accommodations would:
- require circuitous routing
- require travel during unreasonable hours
- greatly increase the duration of the flight
- result in additional costs which would offset the transportation
savings, or
- offer accommodations which are not reasonably adequate for
the medical needs of the traveler.
- Costs of personnel movements of a special or mass nature are
allowable only when authorized or approved in writing by the sponsoring
agency or its authorized representative.
- Termination costs applicable to contracts.
- Contract terminations generally give rise to the incurrence
of costs or to the need for special treatment of costs which would
not have arisen had the contract not been terminated. Items peculiar
to termination are set forth below. They are to be used in conjunction
with all other provisions of these principles in the case of contract
termination.
- The cost of common items of material reasonably usable on
the hospital's other work will not be allowable unless the hospital
submits evidence that it could not retain such items at cost without
sustaining a loss. In deciding whether such items are reasonably
usable on other work of the institution, consideration should
be given to the hospital's plans for current scheduled work or
activities including other research agreements. Contemporaneous
purchases of common items by the hospital will be regarded as
evidence that such items are reasonably usable on the hospital's
other work. Any acceptance of common items as allowable to the
terminated portion of the contract should be limited to the extent
that the quantities of such items on hand, in transit, and on
order are in excess of the reasonable quantitative requirement
of other work.
- If in a particular case, despite all reasonable efforts by
the hospital, certain costs cannot be discontinued immediately
after the effective date of termination, such costs are generally
allowable within the limitations set forth in these principles,
except that any such costs continuing after termination due to
the negligent or willful failure of the hospital to discontinue
such costs will be considered unacceptable.
- Loss of useful value of special tooling and special machinery
and equipment is generally allowable, provided (1) such special
tooling, machinery or equipment is not reasonably capable of use
in the other work of the hospital; (2) the interest of the Government
is protected by transfer of title or by other means deemed appropriate
by the contracting officer; and (3) the loss of useful value as
to any one terminated contract is limited to that portion of the
acquisition cost which bears the same ratio to the total acquisition
cost as the terminated portion of the contract bears to the entire
terminated contract and other government contracts for which the
special tooling, special machinery or equipment was acquired.
- Rental costs under unexpired leases are generally allowable
where clearly shown to have been reasonably necessary for the
performance of the terminated contract, less the residual value
of such leases, if (1) the amount of such rental claimed does
not exceed the reasonable use value of the property leased for
the period of the contract and such further period as may be reasonable;
and (2) the hospital makes all reasonable efforts to terminate,
assign, settle, or otherwise reduce the cost of such lease. There
also may be included the cost of alterations of such leased property,
provided such alterations were necessary for the performance of
the contract and of reasonable restoration required by the provisions
of the lease.
- Settlement expenses including the following are generally
allowable: (1) Accounting, legal, clerical, and similar costs
reasonably necessary for the preparation and presentation to contracting
officers of settlement claims and supporting data with respect
to the terminated portion of the contract and the termination
and settlement of subcontracts; and (2) reasonable costs for the
storage, transportation, protection, and disposition of property
provided by the Government or acquired or produced by the institution
for the contract.
- Subcontractor claims including the allocable portion of claims
which are common to the contract and to other work of the contractor
are generally allowable.
- Voluntary services. The value of voluntary services provided
by sisters or other members of religious orders is allowable provided
that amounts do not exceed that paid other employees for similar
work. Such amounts must be identifiable in the records of the
hospital as a legal obligation of the hospital. This may be reflected
by an agreement between the religious order and the hospital supported
by evidence of payments to the order.
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