Federal Reports

We issued this to determine whether the Social Security Administration (SSA) correctly exempted Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits from the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). Specifically, we reviewed exemptions for (a) workers who had 30 or more years of coverage subject to Social Security earnings, (b) workers who were eligible for a pension before 1986, and (c) Federal employees under the mandatory coverage provision.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opioids were involved in more than 47,000 deaths in 2017, and opioid deaths were 6 times higher in 2017 than in 1999. CDC has awarded funding to States to address the nonmedical use of prescription drugs and to address opioid overdoses. We are conducting a series of reviews of States that have received CDC funding to enhance their prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). We selected New York for review because it experienced a significant increase in the rate of drug overdose deaths during 2016 and 2017.

When Congress established average sales price (ASP) as the basis for Medicare Part B drug reimbursement, it also provided a mechanism for monitoring market prices and limiting potentially excessive payment amounts. The Social Security Act (the Act) mandates that OIG compare ASPs with average manufacturer prices (AMPs). If OIG finds that the ASP for a drug exceeds the AMP by a certain percentage (currently 5 percent), the Act directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to substitute the ASP-based payment amount with a lower calculated rate. Through regulation, CMS outlined that it would make this substitution only if the ASP for a drug exceeded the AMP by 5 percent in the 2 previous quarters or 3 of the previous 4 quarters.