Episode 17: Eye on Oversight - OIG 2019 Year in Review

The HHS OIG Hotline receives tips and complaints from all sources regarding potential healthcare fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in HHS programs. With nearly 115 thousand complaints received each year, OIG's Hotline is one of the largest in terms of volume of inquiries reviewed.

In fiscal year 2019, the HHS Office of Inspector General reported 809 criminal actions, 695 civil actions, and nearly six billion dollars in expected recoveries. Let's look at some other highlights from this year.

In the summer of 2018, OIG conducted a series of site visits at facilities funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR. At that time, ORR was experiencing a surge of children in its custody, under the Unaccompanied Alien Children Program. A recent OIG review focused on ORR-funded facilities' efforts to maintain appropriate levels of qualified, screened facility employees, including when the UAC program experiences a sudden change in the number or needs of children.

OIG provides oversight of the Unaccompanied Alien Children program that is managed by HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR. In the summer of 2018, OIG conducted site visits and data collection at 45 facilities in ten states that provide temporary care to unaccompanied children. This large, multifaceted review focused on the health and safety of children in HHS custody. OIG is publishing a series of reports resulting from this review, including work that identifies challenges facilities experienced in addressing children's mental health needs.

The Medicaid program serves more people than any other Federal healthcare program. To ensure that Medicaid can continue serving the nation's most vulnerable populations, corrupt providers must be kept out of the program.

An estimated 13 percent of children enrolled in Medicaid have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - or ADHD, which is a common neurobehavioral disorder. A new national report by the HHS Office of Inspector General found that many Medicaid-enrolled children with ADHD did not receive recommended follow up services.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General issued two new reports that address the identification, reporting and investigation of incidents of potential abuse and neglect of our nation's most vulnerable populations, including seniors and individuals with developmental disabilities.

In August 2018, HHS-OIG started a national review to examine challenges faced by ORR-funded facilities. The agency looked at the facilities' efforts to protect unaccompanied children in their care and to provide needed physical and mental health services. OIG is releasing multiple reports in 2019 that detail findings from this national review.

Kimberly Ruppert, team leader in the Office of Evaluation and Inspections in Boston, is interviewed by Katherine Harris, a public affairs specialist in Washington, DC.

Dr. Michael Cohen, an operations officer in the Office of Investigations, is interviewed by Tyler Daniels, a public affairs specialist in Washington DC.