Open Recommendations

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits modify policies and procedures for full-file loan reviews to include detailed steps for loan specialists to conduct reviews, as well as the risk factors and methodology for loan selection.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits develop and update policies and procedures to ensure invoices or bills are obtained for all third-party charges and lenders report itemized closing costs at the lowest level of detail.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits develop and update policies and procedures for the state deviation process and requirements, assess the extent of missing VA authorizations on the schedule of state deviations and obtain the necessary documentation, and obtain a legal opinion from the VA’s Office of General Counsel on the allowability of state deviation charges in excess of the state-published amounts, and then review the potential overcharges identified in the audit sample to determine if action is needed to make the borrowers whole.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits modify policies and procedures for full-file loan reviews to include detailed steps for loan specialists to conduct reviews, as well as the risk factors and methodology for loan selection. 9. Update policies and procedures to ensure the borrower is reimbursed for any overcharges identified during regional loan center quality reviews.

We recommend the Executive Associate Director for Homeland Security Investigations develop and implement a work plan detailing prioritized upgrades to the Repository for Analytics in a Virtualized Environment, Data Analysis & Research for Trade Transparency System, estimated funding requirements for those upgrades, and timelines for implementing the upgrades. The upgrades should include processes to achieve program objectives and respond to program risks such as capabilities to facilitate identifying trade-based money laundering transactions.

We recommend the Executive Associate Director for Homeland Security Investigations conduct an analysis of the Trade Transparency Unit workforce to determine the number of full-time staff needed to accomplish the unit’s mission and convey those requirements to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer for future funding consideration.

(U) Rec. 1.a: Recommendation is Classified.

(U) Rec. 1.b: Recommendation is Classified.

Document Priority Mail Express delays in the Mail Arrival Quality/Plant Arrival Quality system and coordinate with the Louisiana District Manager to resolve the Priority Mail Express issues.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services instruct MACs to implement edits in their claims processing systems to prevent an OTP from being paid for: (1) a weekly bundle with a service date that was within a contiguous 7-day period of another weekly bundle's service date for the same enrollee at the same OTP or (2) two weekly bundles with the same service date for the same enrollee at the same OTP.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services work with MACs to determine whether claims billed by OTPs for OUD treatment services complied with Medicare requirements.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services work with MACs to provide education on proper billing of intake activities to the 8 OTPs that billed 14 or more intake activity claims per enrollee during our audit period.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revise its billing guidance to specify that OTPs should not bill add-on HCPCS codes for take-home supplies of medication for the same episode of care that was already covered by a weekly bundle that included medication, and instruct MACs to implement edits in their claims processing systems to identify improperly billed claims for take‑home medication.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services instruct MACs, based upon the results of this audit, to notify appropriate providers (i.e., those for whom CMS determines this audit constitutes credible information of potential overpayments) so that the providers can exercise reasonable diligence to identify, report, and return any overpayments, up to $17,817,121, in accordance with the 60-day rule and identify any of those returned overpayments as having been made in accordance with this recommendation.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services develop billing requirements for OTPs to include OUD diagnosis codes on claims for OUD treatment services to indicate that enrollees have OUD diagnoses, and consider working with MACs to implement a system edit to ensure that OTP payments are made for enrollees only when OUD diagnosis codes are included on claims.

Continue its efforts to prioritize projects that address the complexities required across EL tiers to meet the intermediate (EL2) maturity level in accordance with OMB M-21-31.

Revise its policies and procedures to document and implement a lessons learned process based on risk events within the ISCM and Risk Management areas. System security personnel should be instructed to record, analyze, and revise control activities to improve NASA's security posture.

Continue to implement the necessary entity-wide oversight to improve enforcement mechanisms and controls to ensure all standard baselines and vulnerabilities are monitored and remediated in accordance with Federal and Agency requirements.

Ensure that the security controls in control families PM, PT, and SR are updated and defined within the Agency's ISCM strategy.

Document the NMI process in NASA's ISCM Strategy to ensure its hardware inventory monitoring process is accurate, complete, and fully aligns with NASA's other continuous monitoring guidance and integrates processes, associated outputs, and incorporates results to provide situational awareness.

The Director, Field Collection, SB/SE Division, should improve new revenue officer training by adding direct contact scenarios pertaining to taxpayers’ statements concerning their right to representation.