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GAO-21-527PR 1 (2021-05-19)

handle is hein.gao/gaolsl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: `1O o U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE A Century of Non-Partisan Fact-Based Work 441 G St. N.W. Comptroller General Washington, DC 20548 of the United States May 19, 2021 The Honorable Xavier Becerra Secretary U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Ave., SW Washington, D.C. 20201 Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Health and Human Services Dear Mr. Secretary: The purpose of this letter is to provide an update on the overall status of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) implementation of GAO's recommendations and call your personal attention to areas where recommendations should be given high priority.1 In November 2020, we reported that on a government-wide basis, 77 percent of our recommendations made 4 years ago were implemented.2 As of May 2021, HHS had 458 open recommendations with an implementation rate of 64 percent. Implementing all open recommendations could significantly improve HHS's operations. In our April 2020 letter to the Department, we designated 55 recommendations as priorities for HHS, and HHS has since implemented eight of them. In doing so, HHS has taken steps to improve the quality of care in the Indian Health Service's federally operated facilities, implemented initiatives to improve the accuracy and completeness of Medicaid data to expedite their use for program oversight, strengthened controls over the determination of eligibility for the premium tax credit used to help individuals purchase health insurance coverage through health insurance marketplaces, and developed guidance, policies, and procedures to improve implementation of information security controls among qualified entities and researchers. In addition to the eight priority recommendations HHS implemented, four are no longer included in this letter, for example, because they became a lower priority as a result of statutory or programmatic changes, as discussed below in the relevant sections. We ask your attention to the 43 priority recommendations remaining from those we identified in the 2020 letter. We also are adding 18 new priority recommendations related to the response to, and recovery from, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and other public health emergency preparedness issues, public health and human services program oversight, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight, and the Medicaid program, bringing the total 1Priority recommendations are those that GAO believes warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or agencies. They are highlighted because, upon implementation, they may significantly improve government operation; for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue. 2GAO, Performance and Accountability Report: Fiscal Year 2020, GAO-21-4SP (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 16, 2020).

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