Federal Reports

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an inspection at the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System (facility) in Utah to assess allegations of lack of care coordination and a delay in a patient receiving an anticoagulant medication, refusal to hire a community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) pharmacist, delays in relocating the Orem CBOC, and that the Facility Director ordered patients to be bussed to the facility for care.The OIG did not substantiate a lack of care coordination. A non-VA hospital provided the patient with a discharge summary, a prescription and savings card for a one-month supply of medication, education, and a follow-up call. The non-VA hospital also provided the facility with the discharge summary and prescription.The OIG substantiated the patient’s nurse delayed care by not returning the patient’s call for assistance with obtaining the medication, and by not informing the covering provider of the patient’s request and that the patient had been off of the medication for four days. The patient died the following day.The facility conducted an internal review of the patient’s care. The OIG found that the review was incomplete and included inaccurate information and leaders were unable to determine if an institutional disclosure was warranted.The OIG did not substantiate the Chief of Pharmacy refused to hire a CBOC pharmacist, that having a pharmacist would have allowed the patient to obtain the medication, or that the Facility Director ordered patients to be bussed from the Orem CBOC to the facility for care.The OIG substantiated the Orem CBOC relocation was delayed, but the facility developed and implemented a contingency plan to address the delay.The OIG made three recommendations related to a clinical care review of the patient, root cause analysis processes, and determining the need for an institutional disclosure.

This interim report presents preliminary findings related to two Office of Audit reviews, A-08-21-51036 & A-15-21-51015. The objectives of these audits are to evaluate SSA’s management of mail and controls over its processing of Social Security card applications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report contains information about recommendations from the OIG's audits, evaluations, reviews, and other reports that the OIG had not closed as of the specified date because it had not determined that the Department of Justice had fully implemented them. The list omits information that the Department of Justice determined to be limited official use or classified, and therefore unsuitable for public release.The status of each recommendation was accurate as of the specified date and is subject to change. Specifically, a recommendation identified as not closed as of the specified date may subsequently have been closed.

Postal Service Supply Management is responsible for important components of the contract invoice payment process, which includes invoice submission, certification, and approval for payment. Suppliers can submit invoices manually or electronically as specified in the contract. Prior to payment, invoices must adhere to submission requirements and be certified. If the invoice does not meet submission requirements, the invoice certifier is required to reject it.The Postal Service is subject to the Prompt Payment Act, which requires payment of an invoice subject to the contract payment terms after receipt of goods and services. Payment terms specifying the timeframe for making payments are included in Postal Service contracts.

The Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) is an integrated group of procedures and computer processing operations designed to meet principal objectives, such as processing medical claims. States report costs related to private MMIS contract services as administrative costs.Generally, the Federal Government reimburses States 50 percent of their administrative costs; however, for certain approved MMIS costs, the Federal Government reimburses 90 percent or 75 percent. States are required to obtain prior approval in an Advanced Planning Document (APD) to receive the higher reimbursement rates.For Federal fiscal years 2013 through 2017, 10 States claimed more than 50 percent of the total costs related to private MMIS contract services. Arkansas ranked 8th highest.

We investigated whether a BIA employee improperly received gifts, influenced a nonprofit’s operations, and awarded funds to a university.