HIGLAS Architecture

The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) required, among other things, that agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal financial management system requirements. CMS chose Oracle Federal Financials, a Financial Systems Integration Office (FSIO) certified Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product, as the foundation to meet this mandate, in what is referred to as Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System (HIGLAS).

HIGLAS exchanges data with other systems that are necessary to support financial management, such as the FFS Shared Systems (FISS, MCS), travel, payroll, and Treasury systems to name a few. HIGLAS also receives data from direct user input.

The major business functions supported by HIGLAS include:

General Ledger (GL)

• All transactions to record financial events post to the general ledger, regardless of the origin of the transaction.
• The GL summarizes and maintains balances by fund structure and individual general ledger accounts.

Budget Execution / Funds Management (FV)

• Ensures that the Agency does not obligate or disburse funds in excess of those appropriated or authorized in accordance with OMB Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget. 

Purchasing (PO)

• Based on funds availability, records commitments (e.g., requisitions). Commitments allow the agency to “reserve” funds before legal obligations are established.
• Based on funds availability, records obligations which are a binding agreement that will result in outlays, immediately or in the future.

Accounts Payable (AP)

• Receiving goods or services that result in a payable, recording payment requests received from vendors, providers, physicians, suppliers, beneficiaries, and other entities and disbursing payments.
• Processing of payee information and validated payment requests from various entities.

Accounts Receivable (AR)

• Receivables are established to account for amounts due from others as the result of performance of services by the agency, delivery of goods sold, the passage of time (e.g., interest earned), overpayments, or other actions.
• Recording, billing, monitoring, and collecting amounts due the government whether previously established as a receivable or not.

Letters

• The systematic generation of appropriate demand letters to Medicare FFS debtors that funds are due because of an overpayment or other receivable event.
• Provides for standard letter language and formatting based on CMS Instructions.

Loans (LNS)

• Based on CMS approval, establish an Extended Repayment Program (ERP) for a demanded AR debt.

Cash Management (CE)

• Reconciling Medicare Administrative Contractors’ (MACs) bank statements.

Grants

• Supports the obligation and issuance of grant awards for Medicaid, CHIP, and other mandatory or discretionary grant activities.
• Supports the tracking, reconciliation, and recording of expenditure and closeout activities.

Agency Financial Statement

• Ultimate goal of HIGLAS – timely, accurate, and reliable financial reporting. Quarterly, CMS’ Financial Statements are generated based on all recorded and posted transactions. The statements are produced from the CMSHQ (Headquarters, OFM) HIGLAS Organization by OFM staff.