Federal Reports

In fiscal year (FY) 2019, we audited nine local Postal Service units in eight different districts that addressed issues related to local purchases and payments. One of the issues we tested was exceeding the $1,000 invoice limit by using multiple no-fee money orders for local purchases and payments. These reports resulted in 11 recommendations to district management to reiterate policies and procedures, train applicable employees, and provide tax reportable documentation to vendors receiving payments. Our objective this time was to evaluate whether corrective actions taken by the Postal Service, in response to those reports, sufficiently addressed the issue of exceeding the $1,000 invoice limit by using multiple no-fee money orders for local purchases and payments.

Our objective was to determine whether the Social Security Administration (SSA) appropriately assigned Social Security numbers (SSN) to noncitizens with a valid nonwork reason.

From July 1, 2016, through December 31, 2018 (audit period), Medicare paid approximately $4 billion for orthotic braces provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Prior OIG audits and evaluations found that some suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) billed for orthotic braces that did not comply with Medicare requirements. During our audit period, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found that orthotic braces were among the top 20 DMEPOS items with the highest improper payment rates. After analyzing Medicare claim data, we selected for audit Desoto Home Health Care, Inc. (Desoto), an orthotic braces supplier in Wauchula, Florida.

Effective in 2018, the Medicare program changed the way it sets payment rates for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests (lab tests). CMS replaced the previous payment rates with new rates based on private payer data collected from labs. This is the first reform in 3 decades to Medicare's payment system for lab tests. As part of the same legislation reforming Medicare's payment system, Congress mandated that OIG monitor Medicare payments for lab tests and the implementation and effect of the new payment system for those tests.