Federal Reports

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review in response to newly established requirements in the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017. The law requires the OIG to report a minimum of five clinical and five nonclinical VA occupations that have the largest staffing shortages at each medical facility. This is in contrast to the prior mandate to report the five largest staffing shortages throughout VHA. This is OIG’s fifth annual determination of staffing shortages in VHA. In light of the changes in law, the OIG adjusted its approach to this year’s iteration of the mandated staffing report and conducted a facility-specific survey to determine current staffing levels and identify staffing shortages at the facility level. The most frequently cited shortages were in the Medical Officer and Nurse occupations. The OIG also found that several nonclinical occupations were frequently designated by VHA facilities as a shortage. Ultimately, the number of facility staffing shortage designations ranged from 1 to 89 shortages, including both clinical and nonclinical occupations. Facility responses to reasons why there was a shortage varied significantly. The most commonly cited challenges to staffing fell into three categories: lack of qualified applicants, non competitive salary, and high staff turnover. The reasons provided by facilities in response to the 2018 survey were consistent with many of the barriers noted in OIG’s 2017 staffing survey. The 2018 survey highlights the need for a staffing model that identifies and prioritizes staffing needs at the national level while allowing flexibility at the facility level.

The OIG investigated allegations that an oil and gas company failed to comply with Federal regulations and to pay royalties associated with tribal leases. We substantiated the allegations and found the company failed to accurately report and pay gas royalties in 2014 for seven leases located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. We found, however, that the company made genuine attempts to correct the royalty reporting, but the adjustments did not post properly. After consultation between our office, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), and company representatives, the company corrected the suspect reporting and paid all additional gas royalties associated with the seven tribal leases.

The Medicaid program pays for nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) services that a State determines to be necessary for beneficiaries to obtain care. Prior OIG audit reports have consistently identified NEMT services as vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse.

To read the press release for this report, please click the link below.

An Amtrak electrician with the Mechanical department was suspended from employment on June 13, 2018 for violating company policy. The employee was initially terminated; however, a Public Law Board reduced the penalty of termination to a suspension and reinstated the employee without backpay.

The Office of the Inspector General conducted a review to determine if TVA’s privacy program is effective and in compliance with applicable regulations, guidance, policies, and procedures. We found several areas of the privacy program to be generally effective, including (1) controls protecting privacy information on TVA-owned mobile devices, (2) privacy training taken by network users, (3) regular reviews of the privacy program by TVA management, (4) encryption controls protecting data in privacy systems, and (5) appropriate use and protection of reports in privacy systems. However, we identified several issues that should be addressed by TVA management to further increase the effectiveness of the privacy program. We also found gaps between TVA’s policies and procedures governing the privacy program and applicable federal privacy regulations and guidance. TVA management agreed with our findings and recommendations.