Open Recommendations

We recommend that HUDs Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs require the State to provide documentation to show that $75,006 used for appraisal quality control reviews was for services that complied with applicable requirements or reimburse any unsupported costs from non-Federal funds.

We recommend that HUDs Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs require the State to strengthen controls to ensure that future Disaster Recovery funds used for appraisal services and quality control reviews under the program are for costs that are reasonable, necessary, supported, and for services that comply with applicable requirements.

Reassess the process of isolating key project personnel from instrument selection to balance their additional insight in integration and cost estimation while maintaining fairness in the announcement and mitigating conflicts of interest risks.

Develop and implement a process for periodically assessing force account risk. Based on the risk assessment, develop and implement procedures for overseeing compliance with Federal force account regulations.

Revise force account guidance for the States to clarify when cost-effectiveness determinations are required.

Develop and implement a process for determining when force account can be used for work performed outside the Federal highway right-of-way without complying with Federal requirements.

For the estimated $2,979,377 overpayment for all claims outside of the Medicare reopening period, exercise reasonable diligence to identify and return overpayments in accordance with the 60-day rule, and identify any returned overpayments as having been made in accordance with this recommendation

Exercise reasonable diligence to identify and return any additional similar overpayments outside of our audit period, in accordance with the 60-day rule, and identify any returned overpayments as having been made in accordance with this recommendation

Rec. B.2: The DoD OIG recommended that, once the DoD issues its instruction, the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force update the cemetery regulations accordingly.

The Office of Programs should update all control documentation (including policies and procedures, charts of controls, and other related documentation) to reflect the changes that occurred to unapplied cash as a result of the migration to the Financial Management Integrated System.

The Office of Programs should test the updated unapplied cash controls to ensure that they are present and operating as intended.

The Office of Programs should work with the Railroad Retirement Board’s Bureau of Information Services to implement Overpayment Recovery Correspondence System modifications to ensure that unapplied cash historical files [carried over from prior years, and receipts disposed of (applied to debt)] are maintained for completeness and accountability.

The Office of Programs should work with the Bureau of Fiscal Operations to establish and implement control activities to ensure that the Overpayment Recovery Correspondence System Unapplied Cash Application is fully interfaced with the Financial Management Integrated System so that all unapplied cash transactions are properly processed and recorded in the Overpayment Recovery Correspondence System Unapplied Cash Application.

The Bureau of Fiscal Operations should update all control documentation (including policies and procedures, charts of controls, and other related documentation) to reflect the changes that occurred to unapplied cash as a result of the migration to the Financial Management Integrated System.

The Bureau of Fiscal Operations should test the updated unapplied cash controls to ensure that they are present and operating as intended.

The Bureau of Fiscal Operations should develop and implement a formal reconciliation process to ensure accountability, completeness, and accuracy of unapplied cash transactions.

Review the 1,030 terminated contingently liable records and take action to adjust benefits.

Review and take action to remove the overpayment balance from the 4,690 terminated contingently liable beneficiaries and transfer the debt balance to the original debtor for an immediate payment of the overpayment or seek recovery through additional debt collection tools.

Establish controls to remove the outstanding debt from terminated contingently liable beneficiaries and transfer the balance to the original debtor for an immediate payment of the overpayment or seek recovery through additional debt collection tools when available.

Recommendation is not publicly available.

Work with CMS to determine the unallowable portion of $7,889 (Federal share) for other claims for covered outpatient physician-administered drugs that were submitted without NDCs and that may have been ineligible for Federal reimbursement and refund that amount,

Work with CMS to determine whether the remaining $1,109,110 (Federal share) of other physician-administered drug claims could have been invoiced to the manufacturers to receive rebates and, if so, upon receipt of the rebates, refund the Federal share of the manufacturers’ rebates for those claims.

Strengthen its internal controls to ensure that all physician-administered drugs eligible for rebates are invoiced.

Work with CMS to determine and refund the unallowable portion of Federal reimbursement for physician-administered drugs that were not invoiced for rebates after December 31, 2016;