About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-22-105646 1 (2022-05-26)

handle is hein.gao/gaondh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Comptroller General Washington, DC 20548 of the United States May 26, 2022 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 continued personal attention to areas where recommendations should be given high priority.1 In November 2021, we reported that on a government-wide basis, 76 percent of our recommendations made 4 years ago were implemented.2 As of April 2022, HHS had 452 open recommendations with an implementation rate of 65 percent. Implementing all open recommendations could significantly improve HHS's operations. In our May 2021 letter to the department, we designated 61 recommendations as priorities for HHS, and HHS has since implemented nine of them.3 In doing so, HHS has taken steps to revise its processes for conducting improper payment risk assessments for its programs, including the Head Start program;4 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 2021, GAO-22-4SP (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 15, 2021). 31n addition to the nine priority recommendations HHS implemented, we closed one recommendation made in September 2020 related to establishing a time frame for documenting and sharing a national plan for distributing and administering COVID-19 vaccines. Over the course of the pandemic, HHS, including CDC, and the White House issued vaccine planning documents; however, these documents did not provide details-such as specific roles of non-federal entities-to fully implement this recommendation. Given the widespread distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines, we closed this recommendation because the effective timeframe for its implementation has passed. 4GAO, Improper Payments: Selected Agencies Need Improvements in Their Assessments to Better Determine and Document Risk Susceptibility, GAO-19-112 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 10, 2019). GAO-22-105646 HHS Priority Recommendations Page 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most