Federal Reports

Federal employees injured on the job, including those employed by the Postal Service, can receive benefits through the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) program. The program provides compensation for lost wages, help in returning to work, medical treatment, and prescription medication. The DOL reported that almost 18,000 Postal Service employees received over 119,000 opioid prescriptions through the FECA in 2018, at a cost of almost $22 million. This was almost 3 percent of the Postal Service’s634,000 employees. Our objective was to determine the impact of opioids being prescribed to Postal Service employees through the DOL’s FECA program.

To provide FDA with insights to improve its oversight of compounders and enhance patient safety, OIG determined the extent to which hospitals purchase non-patient-specific compounded drugs from outsourcing facilities.

OIG conducted the audit of Peace Corps/eSwatini from July 23, 2018 to August 10, 2018. The post’s financial and administrative operations required improvement to comply with agency policies and applicable Federal laws and regulations. Our report made 30 recommendations to improve the administrative and financial operations of Peace Corps/eSwatini.

In seven audits conducted from 2012 through 2016, we identified the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) past challenges making accurate repair-or-replace decisions. Based on our prior work, this report identifies 10 improper decisions or miscalculations FEMA should avoid when making such decisions to ensure that grant funds are properly spent. FEMA is assisting in the recovery from some of the most catastrophic disasters in U.S. history — Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the October 2017 California wildfires. FEMA has made several corrective actions in response to our prior reports. Together with the lessons learned, the corrective actions may help minimize the risk that taxpayer dollars will be wasted on ineligible replacement costs. We made no recommendations.

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) data analytics identified the Park Place Station had $30,124, or a 1,493 percent increase, in refunds from July 1 to December 31, 2018, as compared to the same period the previous year. Our objective was to determine whether postage, fees, and meter revenue refunds were properly issued, supported, and processed at the Houston, TX, Park Place Station.

OIG administers the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU or Unit) grant awards, annually recertifies each Unit, and oversees the Unit's performance in accordance with the requirements of the grant. As part of this oversight, OIG conducts periodic reviews of Units and prepares public reports based on these reviews.