Of 3,112 recommendations related to the US Department of Health and Human Services made by the Government Accountability Office from fiscal year 2001 to March 2024, 437 remain open, the GAO said in a report issued last week.
Addressing just one of those recommendations — payment reform for hospitals and physician practices that would involve Congress directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to equalize Medicare payment rates between settings for evaluation and management office visits and other services that the secretary deems appropriate — would save the government $141 billion over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office found, according to the GAO.
The HHS-related recommendations are among 30 open matters that the GAO said could result in significant savings if addressed. “Certain of these recommendations have the potential to produce between $106 billion and $208 billion of measurable, future financial benefits, according to GAO’s simulations,” the GAO said.
“Since fiscal year 2002, GAO’s work has resulted in over $1.38 trillion in financial benefits, with $70.4 billion in fiscal year 2023 alone,” said Gene L. Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States and head of the GAO.
Among the other open GAO recommendations are that the IRS document processes used to address certain compliance risks for COVID- 19 employer tax credits and implement additional compliance activities to potentially recapture ineligible claims. This action could save the government “tens of billions of dollars” over two years, according to the report.
The independent agency also suggested that the federal government could save more $1 billion annually if Congress would “establish a permanent analytic center of excellence to aid the oversight community in identifying improper payments and fraud” in emergency relief funding.
Read the full report here.
