Open Recommendations

OIG recommends that the Global Engagement Center design and implement controls, rather than relying only on the State Assistance Management System, to ensure that Grants Officers designate a Grants Officer Representative prior to awarding cooperative agreements or grants and throughout the award’s period of performance.

OIG recommends that Global Engagement Center (GEC) Grants Officers implement controls to comply with GEC’s Policies and Procedures Manual (Version 1.6, December 2020), “Post-Award: Changes,” requirements to notify award recipients about changes to Grants Officer Representative (GOR) assignments and furnish award recipients with fully-executed copies of GOR designation memoranda.

Develop a standard operating procedure that instructs program offices and regions on tracking and documenting grant flexibilities and exceptions, and their impacts, due to unanticipated events in order toassure consistency in the information needed to manage grants.

Develop a plan to implement, by December 2022, a uniform electronic record-keeping system for grants to meet the Office of Management and Budget direction in M-19-21, Transition to Electronic Records, that all federal records must be created, retained, and managed in electronicformats with appropriate metadata.

Direct program offices and regions to use a uniform official electronic file system that would allow consistency in agencywide access and storage of electronic grant files.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services do the following, which could have saved Medicare an estimated $47.8 million during our audit period:   -Educate hospitals on the NCD requirements for bariatric surgeries if the NCD has been updated in response to our first recommendation.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

Define and communicate policies and procedures to ensure that its products, system components, systems, and services comply with its cybersecurity and SCRM requirements. This recommendation includes:

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The OIG has determined that the contents of this recommendation would not be appropriate for public disclosure and has therefore limited its distribution to selected officials.

The Under Secretary for Health, in conjunction with Veterans Integrated Service Network directors and facility senior leaders, ensures that employees complete initial suicide risk and intervention training within 90 days of hire and annual suicide prevention refresher training.

The Bureau of Fiscal Operations funding for conducting employer audits should be put to better use by redirecting the focus of the Audit and Compliance Section's FTEs to accomplish their mission and provide adequate Class I and non-Class I railroad audit coverage. Additionally, the Bureau of Fiscal Operations should establish a group solely responsible for completing railroad employer audits.

The Bureau of Fiscal Operations should acquire a team outside of and independent of the Audit Compliance Section (ACS) to conduct an external peer review as soon as possible, and at least every three years thereafter. The Bureau of Fiscal Operations should disclose ACS' lack of peer reviews to auditee organizations whose engagements were initiated after the three-year timeframe following ACS' last external peer review.

The Bureau of Fiscal Operations should update the Audit Compliance Section's Audit Guide and Audit Procedures Manual to reflect the most recent guidance.