Who should I call when I have a billing question?
The main office at 764-0277, we will route your question to the correct person.
Why do I have to pay the Quality Assurance Fee?
The Quality Assurance Fee is assessed on all Non-Federal funding sources, in order to recover the true cost of providing animal care. Federal funding sources pay this fee in the form of the Special Service Indirect Cost and the Facility and Administrative (F&A) cost. The Quality Assurance Fee is a Medical School Only fee and is used by ULAM to purchase animal care equipment for the Medical School facilities. If your sponsor is being charged Quality Assurance Fees then they are NOT paying indirect cost on the animal care and purchases.
Why do I have to pay a 6% surcharge on Animal Purchases?
This surcharge covers the cost of ordering the animals, and placing them into the animal housing room.
What is the Veterinary Service Fee and why do I have to pay it?
The Veterinary Service Fee is paid by all projects using animals. If you are providing care for your own animals you are still required to pay the Veterinary Service Fee, this fee covers the cost of having a clinical veterinary staff at the University of Michigan, 24 hrs per day, 7 days a week. When you have a sick animal you can call and request veterinary care and you will not be charged. The fee also covers the sentinel/surveillance program for rodent housing.
Why can't Financial Operations transfer my charges from a Federal to a Non-Federal Project/Grant and Vice Versa?
The corresponding indirect costs will not flow correctly from one project/grant to the other. The cleanest way to transfer charges from one type of project/grant to another is to have ULAM "un-bill" the original charges and "bill" the project/grant you would like to have the charge ultimately pay for the services. This way the corresponding indirect costs and Quality Assurance Fees will be un-billed and billed correctly.
What recourse do I have if I believe that I have been overcharged for my per diem?
First, look at the data on the bottom of your statement, does it look like you are being charged for animals that you believe to be gone? You will need to contact the ULAM Office at 4-0277; They will research your claim and make an adjustment if they believe that you were overcharged.
Who should I contact to obtain copies of old ULAM bills?
We can re-create your statements from as far back as December 1997. If you would like copies, contact the main office at 4-0277. Have your Investigator Name and Short Codes and dates ready when you place the call.
Why do you send your statements to the Principal Investigators, instead of the person reconciling the project/grant, they never pass them on to me?
The reason we send the statement to the Principal Investigator is to remind them that they have animals housed under ULAM care. We do have a way to send an invoice to two people, the PI and the reconciler. Just call the main office at 4-0277 and ask to have your name added to the alternate mailing list for your project/grants.
