Federal Reports

Audit of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’sProcess for Its Direct Loan to YRC Worldwide, Inc.Under Section 4003 of the CARES Act

This report presents the results of our audit of Package Tracking Messaging.

Postal Service employees who sustain a work-related injury or occupational disease are covered by the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA). These benefits include wage-loss compensation, medical and rehabilitation services, and death benefit payments to surviving dependents. The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Workers’ Compensation Program has the exclusive authority to administer, implement, and enforce FECA, including paying claims on behalf of injured employees. The Postal Service manages efforts to return injured employees to work through its Injury Compensation Program. During chargeback year (CBY) 2022 (July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022) the Postal Service reimbursed $1.31 billion to DOL for its compensation claim costs, including administrative fees.Our objective was to evaluate management’s initiatives to reduce workers’ compensation costs and examine good practices for controlling workers’ compensation activity. We reviewed workers’ compensation data from fiscal year (FY) 2017 through FY 2022 and visited five districts based on management’s implemented cost containment initiatives.

FSA had adequate processes for waiving R2T4 requirements, cancelling borrowers’ obligation to repay Direct Loans, and excluding Pell disbursements from Pell lifetime usage for impacted students. FSA also designed adequate processes for schools to report the number and amounts of R2T4 waivers applied.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an inspection to review allegations that providers at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, delayed care and failed to “provide services,” for a patient who died by suicide on the grounds of the Aiken Community Based Outpatient Clinic and the facility director “. . . covered it up.” The OIG also reviewed leaders’ responses to these allegations.The OIG substantiated the patient received deficient clinical care, which hindered referrals for mental health and pain management services. The deficiencies included (1) a primary care provider’s failure to follow up on positive mental health screenings, (2) a primary care provider’s failure to follow up on a discontinued mental health consult and order testing, (3) facility staff failures to ensure a timely pain management appointment, (4) pain management clinic providers’ failure to perform required mental health screenings, (5) a nurse’s failure to communicate a Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) referral prior to the Emergency Department encounter, and (6) suicide prevention staff failures to act after the VCL referral.The OIG did not substantiate that facility leaders “covered up” the patient’s death by suicide and could not determine the basis for this allegation due to the complainant being anonymous. Facility leaders immediately responded per Veterans Health Administration guidance; however, they failed to initiate a timely investigation of the death as a sentinel event.The OIG also identified completion of an inaccurate Behavioral Health Autopsy, failure to complete a Family Interview Tool Contact, delayed peer reviews, and a clinical review that did not identify and address deficiencies in care.The OIG made nine recommendations regarding mental health screenings, consult management, community care referral, suicide risk assessments, communication and closure of a VCL referral, completed suicides on VA campuses, and accurate completion of quality management reviews.