Federal Reports

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit at the request of Senator Johnny Isakson who was concerned that delays in the repair of VA-issued power wheelchairs and scooters at the Atlanta VA Health Care System placed veterans at physical and financial risk. To evaluate these concerns, the OIG assessed the timeliness of power wheelchair and scooter repairs at Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 7 VA medical facilities. The OIG confirmed that VISN 7 medical facilities, including the Atlanta VA Health Care System, did not ensure the timely completion of repair. The OIG used a 30-day benchmark to assess timeliness because Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service does not have a timeliness standard for the completion of repairs. Subsequently, the OIG projected 380 veterans in VISN 7 experienced delays in the completion of approximately 480 repairs in FY 2016. Furthermore, these veterans waited an average of 69 days for their repairs to be completed. These delays occurred because VISN 7 Prosthetic Service managers lacked policies to ensure VA medical facility staff promptly input repair requests and prosthetic service purchasing staff monitored repairs from inception to completion and held vendors accountable for the timely completion of repairs. Although the OIG could not confirm that the delayed power wheelchair and scooter repairs financially impacted veterans, it confirmed that some veterans experienced physical hardships related to the delays. The OIG recommended the VISN 7 Director implement controls to ensure VA medical facility staff: initiate repair consults as soon as repair requests were received; follow consult documentation procedures; monitor and follow up on repairs through completion; and monitor vendors to ensure the completion of repairs by agreed-upon delivery dates. The VISN 7 Director concurred with our report and recommendations and provided an action plan to address the recommendations. The OIG considered the action plan acceptable.

We found that the company appears to be identifying only a small portion of potentially fraudulent medical claims made by individual medical service providers. Our work indicated that 14 percent of claims submitted by physicians, nurses, physical therapists and other individual providers from 2013 to 2015 were potentially fraudulent, which is significantly higher than the 1 percent of claims identified by the company’s primary claim administrator.

The National Credit Union Administration OIG conducted this self-initiated audit to assess the NCUA’s comprehensive records management process. The objectives of our audit were to determine whether the NCUA has a comprehensive records management framework, retention, and disposal system in place; and whether the NCUA is in compliance with applicable records management policies, procedures, laws, and regulations.

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was authorized to receive $48 billion in funding for the 5-year period beginning October 1, 2008, to assist foreign countries in combating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Additional funds were authorized to be appropriated through 2018.