Federal Reports

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) may be eligible to receive shared savings payments from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) if the ACOs reduce health care costs and satisfy the MSSP quality performance standard for their assigned beneficiaries. As part of the standard, ACOs must report to CMS complete and accurate data on all quality measures. For performance year (PY) 2017, ACOs were required to report data on 31 quality measures through 3 methods of submission: a patient survey, claims and administrative data, and the designated CMS web portal. If ACOs do not report complete and accurate data, shared savings payments could be affected. Previous OIG audits of two selected ACOs assessed whether they reported complete and accurate data on selected quality measures. Our objective was to determine whether CMS’s monitoring activities were effective for ensuring that ACOs report complete and accurate data on quality measures.

A Mechanical Inspector based in Beech Grove, Indiana, violated Amtrak policies by posting images and material characterized as disturbing, offensive, and inappropriate on a publicly available social media site. The former employee admitted to posting images which promoted Nazi ideologies on a social media website which identified him as a company employee. We also found that he was arrested in November 2016 for Driving Under the Influence and did not report his arrest to the company as required by company policy. The employee resigned on September 9, 2020, in lieu of a disciplinary hearing and is not eligible for rehire.

The Office of the Inspector General conducted a review of the Treasury organization to identify factors that could impact Treasury’s organizational effectiveness. Our report identified behaviors that had a positive impact on Treasury. These included interactions with team members and leadership. We also identified risks to operations that, although minimal, could impede Treasury’s effectiveness if unaddressed. While interviews with Treasury personnel indicated effective performance of job responsibilities, we identified risks, including (1) uncertainty in business model changes for one Treasury department and (2) risks related to effective service to business partners.

We audited the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Economic Development (ED) loan program to determine if TVA ED loans were executed and administered in accordance with TVA policies and procedures. Our audit scope included 59 loans with outstanding balances of approximately $47.5 million as of December 31, 2019.We found that TVA ED loans were generally executed and administered in accordance with TVA policies and procedures. However, we found instances where loans were originated subsequent to the expiration date of (1) credit analyses, and/or (2) loan commitment periods. We also found that loan program guidance could be improved by incorporating the ED loan program guidelines into TVA Standard Programs and Processes 24.015, Economic Development Loan Programs. We made two recommendations to TVA management to (1) ensure credit analyses and/or loan commitments are current when new loans are issued and (2) update TVA Standard Programs and Processes 24.015, Economic Development Loan Programs to include ED loan program guidelines.

We audited selected controls of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New Core Interface Solution application as part of the internal control assessments for the fiscal year 2019 financial statement audit. Our objective was to review the controls for compliance with Federal information system security and financial management requirements.The OIG has determined that the contents of this audit report would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to those officials listed on the report distribution list.

As part of the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) effort to provide oversight of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) relief efforts provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), we reviewed HUD’s responses to inquiries regarding forbearance and foreclosure relief. The objective of our review was to evaluate the accuracy of HUD’s responses to inquiries from borrowers, industry partners, and the general public regarding forbearance and foreclosure relief provided by the CARES Act. We found that HUD could improve its customer service to borrowers, industry partners, and the general public by providing more direct, accurate, and complete responses to their inquiries.

OIG performed agreed-upon procedures for assessing information reported by USDA’s NFC.