Open Recommendations

Seek remedy or repayment of a PPP loan in the amount of $3.5 million.

We recommend that Inter Valley Health Plan, Inc. refund to the Federal Government the $5,372,998 of estimated net overpayments.

We recommend that Inter Valley Health Plan, Inc. continue to enhance its policies and procedures to prevent, detect, and correct noncompliance with Federal requirements for diagnosis codes that are used to calculate risk-adjusted payments.

We recommend that the Department of Health and Human Services ensure that it and its components fully implement the covered agency responsibilities found in GDA section 759(a)

We recommend that the Department of Health and Human Services maintain an inventory of all geospatial data assets, per section 759(b) of the GDA; and

We recommend that CPB management recover $9,106 in CSG overpayments.

Update the Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning: Office Director and Regional Administrator Guidance to provide specific methodologies, detailed instructions, measurement criteria, and scales that can be used to estimate the anticipated level of workload change, ranking of position risk factors, and prioritization of workforce gaps or surpluses;

Update the Enhanced Strategic Workforce Planning: Office Director and Regional Administrator Guidance to incorporate attrition rates so that the NRC quantifies and considers non-retirement separations in workforce planning.

Update agency policy and procedures to include Human Capital Operating Plan information—specifically, information regarding the periodicity of the plan’s review, approval, and updating—in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management’s Human Capital Operating Plan Guidance: Fiscal Years 2022-2026.

Refund to the Federal Government the portion of the estimated $42,336,162 for hospice services that did not comply with Medicare requirements and that are within the 4-year claims reopening period.

Exercise reasonable diligence to identify, report and return any overpayments in accordance with the 60-day rule and identify any of those returned overpayments as having been made in accordance with this recommendation.

OIG recommends that U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq, develop, implement, document, and communicate a policy and procedures to secure the keys and limit access to the destruction yard holding area at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center to only those people who need access to the area.

OIG recommends that U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq, take actions to ensure that all existing property in storage facilities has been (a) affixed with a barcode label and (b) added into the Integrated Logistics Management System " Asset Management module.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration conduct a review of the integration of the Integrated Logistics Management System - Asset Management and the Computerized Maintenance Management System to ensure that all updated information is being communicated between systems.

OIG recommends that U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq, determine (a) how many of the 15,785 nonexpendable property assets, valued at $7.6 million, were used, how many remain in storage, and how many have been disposed of, along with the reasons for disposal, and (b) whether maintaining these 15,785 assets in storage is necessary and reasonable.

OIG recommends that U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq, develop, implement, document, and communicate a policy and procedures, consistent with 14 Foreign Affairs Manual 412, to require that personnel responsible for purchasing clearly demonstrate a bona fide need supporting the purchase of nonexpendable property.

OIG recommends that Embassy Baghdad, Iraq, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, develop, implement, document, and communicate a policy and procedures to provide information and periodic training to U.S. Embassy Baghdad staff who manage nonexpendable property on the capabilities and proper use of the Integrated Logistics Management System " Analytics module to ensure that the embassy efficiently manages and utilizes existing nonexpendable property at post and properly procures nonexpendable property that the embassy needs.

ACF should improve Head Start grant recipients' self-reporting of incidents of child abuse, lack of supervision, and unauthorized release through better guidance and stronger consequences for failure to report.

ACF shpould improve data-sharing with States about incidents of child abuse, lack of supervision, and unauthorized release in Head Start centers.

ACF should disseminate information about innovative practices that OHS regional offices have developed to better identify and prevent incidents that threaten children's safety.

Coordinate with the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service executive director to (1) develop and issue guidance clearly articulating eligibility requirements for the lifetime benefit amounts to address non-service-connected disabilities and (2) communicate this guidance in an effective manner, such as including specific language in handbooks, providing examples of scenarios to reinforce the requirements, and requiring annual training to make sure all prosthetic staff responsible for the program understand these eligibility requirements.

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: direct the MACs to recover from acute-care hospitals the portion of the $39,310,499 in identified improper payments for our audit period that are within the 4-year reopening period in accordance with CMS's policies and procedures;

based upon the results of this audit, 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 in accordance with the 60-day rule and identify any of those returned overpayments as having been made in accordance with this recommendation;

identify any outpatient claims after our audit period for services provided to beneficiaries who were inpatients of other facilities and direct the MACs to recover any improper payments;

(U) Rec. 1.a: This recommendation is Controlled Unclassified Information

We recommend that the NIST WCF and Departmental WCF develop, document, and implement a policy to require divisions providing services to customers to periodically solicit formal feedback from customer bureaus, document and assess the feedback received, and document the 'going-forward' considerations surrounding the feedback received.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator collaborate with the National Board to develop a more proactive approach to determine, as early in the process as possible, whether Local Boards and State Set-Aside Committees are willing to accept funds, so that funds can be reallocated from jurisdictions unwilling or unable to participate in the Emergency Food and Shelter Program.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator collaborate with the National Board to implement a plan to enforce already established guidance including Local Boards’ deadlines for board plan submission and the disbursement of funds to Local Recipient Organizations within the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act’s 3-month required timeframe.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator update the State Administrative Plan template to incorporate a requirement for grantees to include a description of the steps to prevent improper payments.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator develop and implement a process to monitor whether grantees implement and use the controls attested in FEMA-approved State Administrative Plans.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator work with state workforce agencies to evaluate the Lost Wages Assistance program payments and verify that all recipients who received payment have a self-certification on file, as required; to determine whether the claimant meets eligibility requirements if no self-certification is on file; and, if not, to recover the payment.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator conduct an after-action study of the Lost Wages Assistance program and update FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program based on the lessons learned from the study.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Implement immediate measures to ensure SWAs are required to provide ongoing access to the OIG by amending its current guidance to require disclosures to the OIG for audits and investigations as necessary, mandatory, and without time limitation for the proper oversight of the UI program.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Expedite OIG-related amendments to 20 C.F.R. § 603.6(a) to make ongoing disclosures of UI information to DOL OIG mandatory by expressly adding the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (including its agents and contractors) to the list of required disclosures that are necessary for the proper oversight of the UI program without distinction as to purpose (e.g., audits versus investigations).

We recommend the Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Expedite 603.5(i) to expressly make disclosures of UI information to federal officials for oversight, audits, and investigations of federal programs mandatory.

Collect data on the number of CSP-funded charter schools that remain open for at least 2 years after CSP funding ended and make that information available to the public.

Ensure that CSP grant recipients report in FPRs, APRs, and data collection forms clear, reliable, and timely information on the number of charter schools that they opened or expanded using CSP funds.

Ensure that program officers routinely compare the information reported in FPRs and APRs with the information reported in data collection forms and require CSP grant recipients to timely reconcile any identified discrepancies.

ACF should ensure that ORR's employees and employees of ORR contractors and recipients are informed about Federal whistleblower protections.

We recommend ICE’s Acting Executive Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations and CBP’s Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations ensure analysts are following the requirements in the Visa Security Program’s standard operating proceduresand other guidance as they vet visas and document their activities.

We recommend ICE’s Acting Executive Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations correct the character limit anddata transfer issues in the Visa Security Program Tracking System.

We recommend CBP’s Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations develop and implement a plan to track, if possible — or estimate, if tracking is not possible — the costs of National Targeting Center activities associated with the Visa Security Program and report those costs to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Identify and reimburse the BHP Trust Fund all improper payments resulting from system defects identified in our report (we estimated improper and potentially improper payments during our audit period to be $69,853,415 ($69,862,030 less $8,615)).

Implement system changes to ensure that BHP enrollees with a pending coverage end-date are transferred from BHP to Medicaid upon the end of their 5-year bar.

If SSA does not implement recommendation 3, then it should retain the IRS non-wage income data in its systems beyond 2 years, so it is available for staff to process cases involving fraud or similar fault.

(U) Rec. A.1.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Secretaries of the Military Departments test and evaluate the high-altitude electromagnetic pulse survivability of mission-critical systems to ensure that threshold requirements are met; identify vulnerabilities; and develop and implement risk mitigation tactics, techniques, and procedures or materiel solutions. For programs that utilize hardening as a method for high-altitude electromagnetic pulse survivability, ensure the system requirements documents identify a Hardness Maintenance and Hardness Surveillance requirement and that a Hardness Maintenance and Hardness Survivability program is implemented.

(U) Rec. A.1.b: The DoD OIG recommended that the Secretaries of the Military Departments test and evaluate the high-altitude electromagnetic pulse survivability of mission-critical systems to ensure that threshold requirements are met; identify vulnerabilities; and develop and implement risk mitigation tactics, techniques, and procedures or materiel solutions. For programs that utilize hardening as a method for high-altitude electromagnetic pulse survivability, ensure the system requirements documents identify a Hardness Maintenance and Hardness Surveillance requirement and that a Hardness Maintenance and Hardness Survivability program is implemented.

(U) Rec. A.1.c.1: The DoD OIG recommended that the Secretaries of the Military Departments identify legacy chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear mission-critical systems. Specifically, develop a plan to assess each legacy system's high-altitude electromagnetic pulse survivability limitations.

(U) Rec. A.1.c.2: The DoD OIG recommended that the Secretaries of the Military Departments identify legacy chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear mission-critical systems. Specifically, to the extent practicable, coordinate and implement a standardized assessment plan with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Programs.

(U) Rec. A.1.c.3: The DoD OIG recommended that the Secretaries of the Military Departments identify legacy chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear mission-critical systems. Specifically, for those legacy systems assessed as inadequate, develop materiel solutions or tactics, techniques, and procedures to mitigate the risks as directed by DoD Instruction 3150.09 and provide resource shortfalls and recommended priorities to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs.