Federal Reports

The Semiannual Report to Congress summarizes the results of VA OIG oversight, provides statistical information, and lists all 169 work products issued from April 1 to September 30, 2023. During this reporting period, VA OIG audits, evaluations, investigations, inspections, and other reviews identified more than $1.14 billion in monetary impact for a return on investment of $11 for every dollar spent. The OIG hotline received and triaged over 18,000 contacts in the past six months—to help identify wrongdoing and address concerns with VA activities. Also during the past six months, special agents opened 230 investigations and closed 190, with efforts leading to 95 arrests. Collectively, the OIG’s work also resulted in 581 administrative sanctions and corrective actions during the six-month reporting period.

In keeping with its responsibilities under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, the OIG monitored the audit of TVA's fiscal year 2023 financial statements performed by Ernst and Young LLP (EY) to assure their work complied with Government Auditing Standards. Our review of EY's work disclosed no instance in which the firm did not comply in all material respects with Government Auditing Standards.

This Office of Inspector General Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the inpatient and outpatient care provided at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, which includes the Fayetteville VA Medical Center and multiple outpatient clinics in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. This evaluation focused on five key operational areas:• Leadership and organizational risks• Quality, safety, and value• Medical staff privileging• Environment of care• Mental health (emergency department and urgent care center suicide prevention initiatives)The OIG issued five recommendations for improvement in four areas:1. Leadership and Organizational Risks• Institutional disclosures for sentinel events2. Medical Staff Privileging• Service-specific criteria in Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations3. Environment of Care• Contaminated, damaged, expired, or recalled medical supplies• Notices in treatment areas subject to photography or video recording4. Mental Health• Safety plans for patients discharged from the Emergency Department with a positive suicide risk screen

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The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements.

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this review to assess whether the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) maintains price consistency across vendors and contracts when purchasing prescription eyeglasses for veterans.In fiscal year 2022, VHA spent about $127.9 million to provide eyeglasses to nearly 1.4 million veterans. Contract vendors provided 85 percent of these eyeglasses, with two vendors supplying approximately 82 percent through multiple regional contracts. The review team determined that contract prices and pricing structures for the same or similar eyeglasses differed by contract for these two vendors, sometimes more than $10 per item from the same vendor. In most instances, contract files did not include evidence to suggest that contracting officers discussed and compared pricing prior to awarding contracts, nor was there information on why prices might differ for the same or similar eyeglasses.VHA has opportunities to use strategic sourcing strategies for eyeglasses to improve consistent pricing, particularly on multiple contracts from the same vendor. Such strategies could include developing a pricing catalog or national contracts. The executive director of VHA’s prosthetic services office told the OIG review team of plans to establish such a national contract for VHA’s community care program to prescribe and provide about 459,000 eyeglasses annually over five years. Even if that contract is executed, VHA could still save $2.9 million annually by improving price consistency on VA-prescribed eyeglasses from these two vendors.The OIG made two recommendations to the under secretary for health: coordinate program offices to develop and implement a sourcing strategy for VA-prescribed eyeglasses from contract vendors, and implement a process to assist contracting officers in collaborating to ensure the best pricing for similar products.