Open Recommendations

CMS should conduct additional outreach to beneficiaries to increase awareness about Medicare coverage for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

CMS should take steps to increase the number of providers and opioid treatment programs for Medicare beneficiaries with opioid use disorder.

CMS should assist SAMHSA by providing data about the number of Medicare beneficiaries receiving buprenorphine in office-based settings and the geographic areas where Medicare beneficiaries remain underserved.

CMS should take steps to increase the utilization of behavioral therapy among beneficiaries receiving medication to treat opioid use disorder.

CMS should create an action plan and take steps to address disparities in the treatment of opioid use disorder.

CMS should collect data on the use of telehealth in opioid treatment programs.

Design and implement an effective accountability system that includes clear expectations of goals, performance measures, estimated target dates, and monitoring to hold OIT leadership accountable for improving AmeriCorps’ information security program to an effective level. (New

Develop, document, and communicate an overall SCRM strategy, implementation plan, and related policies and procedures to guide and govern supply chain risk management activities. If AmeriCorps intends to limit its IT purchases to GSA vendors, it should so state, and indicate who, if anyone, must approve exceptions. (New)

FHFA’s Office of Technology and Information Management (OTIM) should request an assessment to be completed by December 1, 2022, and that assessment will be used to determine if OTIM has sufficient resources (staff, technology, etc.) to update, test, and execute the contingency plan requirements.

Rec. 1: The DoD OIG recommended that the Defense Pricing and Contracting Principal Director review the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Procedures, Guidance, and Information to determine whether current policy adequately addresses when cost analysis should be required by contracting officials to determine price reasonableness for sole-source spare parts not subject to Truth in Negotiations Act. If the Principal Director determines that current policy is not sufficient, the Principal Director should initiate actions to revise and update policy and guidance.

We recommend that the Office of Single Family Housing coordinate its efforts with the Office of Public and Indian Housing and the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs to further ensure that appropriate controls are in place to prevent HECM borrowers from violating principal residency requirements.

Resolve the $91,220 in questioned inadequately supported subaward expenses, internal service provider rates, and meal expenses for which UTD has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct UTD to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.

Direct UTD to provide documentation that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $551 of questioned travel costs that it has agreed to reimburse.

Resolve the $65,226 in questioned materials and supplies and travel costs for which UTD has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct UTD to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.

Direct UTD to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $5,378 of questioned airfare, participant, repair, and travel costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.

Resolve the $63,753 in questioned subaward expenses for which UTD has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct UTD to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.

Direct UTD to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $23,082 in questioned fringe benefit, travel, indirect costs, and Cost of Education allowance costs for which UTD has agreed to reimburse NSF.

Direct the Health Information Management program office in coordination with the Office of Community Care and facility chiefs of staff to ensure facilities are conducting post payment audits of billed acupuncture and chiropractic services to verify non VA providers are properly supporting their claims and to develop processes for corrective actions based on audit results.

Direct the Health Information Management program office in coordination with the Office of Community Care and facility chiefs of staff to ensure facilities are conducting post payment audits of billed acupuncture and chiropractic services to verify non VA providers are properly supporting their claims and to develop processes for corrective actions based on audit results.

Direct the Health Information Management program office, in coordination with the Office of Community Care and facility chiefs of staff, to ensure facilities are conducting postpayment audits of billed evaluation and management services to verify non VA providers are properly supporting their claims, including a focus on providers who frequently bill high level evaluation and management services and/or submit charges during periods when global surgery packages are in effect, and develop processes for corrective actions based on audit results.

Implement controls to comply with federally and Agency-required time frames to install patches to correct identified vulnerabilities in the Pesticide Registration Information System application.

Implement a system that tracks the dates when accounts receivable source documents need to be submitted and are submitted by the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to the Cincinnati FinanceCenter.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expand the IRF transfer payment policy to apply to early discharges to home health care. If this expanded policy had been in place, Medicare could have saved $993,134,059 in 2017 and 2018.

We recommend that MCC's Chief Information Officer develop and document supply chain policies, procedures and strategies

MITRE recommended that the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office direct the Commissioner for Patents to establish regular monitoring of consistency in examination decisions, including trainees' decisions, by randomly selecting applications for parallel examination.