OIG Reports
The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its annual analysis of the top HHS management and performance challenges. For FY 2007, areas of significant challenge for HHS include: oversight of Medicare Part D; integrity of Medicare payments; appropriateness of Medicaid and SCHIP payments; quality of care; public health emergency preparedness/response; oversight of food, drug, and medical device safety; grants management; integrity of information technology systems; and ethics program oversight. In addition, the OIG has released the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program Annual Report for FY 2006. During FY 2006, the federal government won or negotiated approximately $2.2 billion in judgments and settlements, and U.S. Attorneys' Offices opened 836 new criminal health care fraud investigations and 915 civil health fraud investigations. Separately, the OIG has analyzed payments for outpatient hospital, laboratory, and radiology services made on behalf of beneficiaries in skilled nursing facility (SNF) stays covered under Medicare Part A. The OIG found Medicare Part B made almost $107 million in potential overpayments for these services during 2001 and 2002. While payment edits implemented in 2003 reduced potential overpayments to $22.7 million, most of the overpayments have not yet been recovered.
