Spotlight Articles

02-04-2013: Grants Management and Oversight
Did you know that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the largest grant-making organization in the Federal Government? In fiscal year (FY) 2011 alone, HHS awarded over 82,000 grants totaling approximately $385 billion.
11-15-2012: Personal Care Services: Trends, Vulnerabilities, and Recommendations for Improvement
Spotlight | Podcast
Though bathing, light housework, or meal preparation may not be readily associated with the Medicaid program, these types of services - called personal care services (PCS) - allow many elderly people and those with disabilities or chronic or temporary conditions to remain in their homes and maintain basic quality of life.
07-20-2012: Adverse Events in Hospitals
Spotlight | Podcast
Patients admitted to the hospital generally expect that the medical care they receive will improve their health, not worsen it. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case.
12-14-2011: Head Start Health and Safety
Poison ivy, a gas-powered hedge trimmer, toxic chemicals, rusty nails, a machete... What do all of these items have in common? OIG auditors found them all in reach of children at Head Start locations.
11-07-2011: Medicare and Medicaid Prescription Drug Rebates
Did you know that the net amount Medicare Part D sponsors pay for the top 100 brand-name drugs is substantially higher than what Medicaid pays?
10-28-2011: Indian Health Services
Nearly 2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives are beneficiaries of health care services provided by the Indian Health Service, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services.
09-07-2011: Independent Diagnostic Testing Facilities
How can medical facilities bill Medicare for services on the day when OIG evaluators visited their location and discovered they're closed or don't
even exist?
07-19-2011: Hospice Care Claim Problems
Hospice care is an important and personal service for terminally ill Medicare beneficiaries, yet it doesn't escape the problems of fraud, waste, and abuse.
07-13-2011: Power Wheelchairs
Medicare spent $95 million on claims for power wheelchairs that were either medically unnecessary or lacked sufficient documentation to determine medical necessity during the first half of 2007. A series of OIG reports examines Medicare power wheelchair claims.
06-07-2011: Medicaid Personal Care Services
Are taxpayers footing the bill for improper Medicaid claims for personal care services? The answer is yes, according to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services.