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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Office of Inspector General (HHS) (OIG)

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Description
Provides oversight to programs within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in an effort to protect against fraud, waste and abuse and to improve the efficiency of programs.

Related Content

Resources (71)

2025

  • Indian Health Service's Controls Over Sanitation Facilities Construction Program Projects Funded Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Could Be Improved, 05/2025, view details

2024

  • Gallup Indian Medical Center—an IHS-Operated Health Facility—Did Not Timely Conduct Required Background Checks of Staff and Supervise Certain Staff, 09/2024, view details
  • A Lack of Behavioral Health Providers in Medicare and Medicaid Impedes Enrollees' Access to Care, 03/2024, view details
  • Medicare Could save Billions with Comparable Access for Enrollees If Critical Access Hospital Payments for Swing-Bed Services Were Similar to Those of the Fee-for-Service Prospective Payment System, 12/2024, view details
  • Staffing Shortages Limited IHS's Capacity To Effectively Administer Much-Needed Sanitation Projects Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 12/2024, view details
  • States Could Better Leverage Coverage and Access Requirements To Promote Maternal Health Care Access in Medicaid Managed Care, 09/2024, view details

2023

  • Although IHS Allocated COVID-19 Testing Funds to Meet Community Needs, It Did Not Ensure That the Funds Were Always Used in Accordance with Federal Requirements, 07/2023, view details
  • Challenges with Vaccination Data Hinder State and Local Immunization Program Efforts to Combat COVID-19, 01/2023, view details
  • Early Challenges Highlight Areas for Improvement in COVID-19 Vaccination Programs, 01/2023, view details
  • Targeted Provider Relief Funds Allocated to Hospitals Had Some Differences with Respect to the Ethnicity and Race of Populations Served, 07/2023, view details

2022

  • Certain Medicare Beneficiaries, Such as Urban and Hispanic Beneficiaries, Were More Likely Than Others To Use Telehealth During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic, 09/2022, view details
  • Home Health Agencies Used Multiple Strategies to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Although Some Challenges Persist, 10/2022, view details
  • The IHS Telehealth System Was Deployed Without Some Required Cybersecurity Controls, 09/2022, view details
  • Insights on Telehealth Use and Program Integrity Risks Across Selected Health Care Programs During the Pandemic, 12/2022, view details
  • Mandated Analysis of Home Health Service Utilization From January 2016 Through March 2022, 12/2022, view details
  • Medicare Part B Overpaid and Beneficiaries Incurred Cost-Share Overcharges of Over $1 Million for the Same Professional Services, 09/2022, view details

2021

  • Hospitals Reported That the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Significantly Strained Health Care Delivery, 03/2021, view details
  • Indian Health Service Use of Critical Care Response Teams Has Helped to Meet Facility Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 09/2021, view details
  • Medicare and Beneficiaries Pay More for Preadmission Services at Affiliated Hospitals Than at Wholly Owned Settings, 12/2021, view details
  • Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Evaluation and Oversight of Telehealth for Behavioral Health in Medicaid, 09/2021, view details
  • States Reported Multiple Challenges with Using Telehealth to Provide Behavioral Health Services to Medicaid Enrollees, 09/2021, view details

2020

  • The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Could Improve Its Wage Index Adjustment for Hospitals in Areas With the Lowest Wages, 12/2020, view details
  • Few Patients Received High Amounts of Opioids from IHS-Run Pharmacies, 12/2020, view details
  • Geographic Disparities Affect Access to Buprenorphine Services for Opioid Use Disorder, 01/2020, view details
  • Hospital Experiences Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a National Pulse Survey March 23–27, 2020, 04/2020, view details
  • Incidence of Adverse Events in Indian Health Service Hospitals, 12/2020, view details
  • Indian Health Service Facilities Made Progress Incorporating Patient Protection Policies, but Challenges Remain, 12/2020, view details
  • Instances of IHS Labor and Delivery Care Not Following National Clinical Guidelines or Best Practices, 12/2020, view details
  • Opioids in Medicaid: Concerns About Opioid Use Among Beneficiaries in Six Appalachian States in 2018, 12/2020, view details

2019

  • ACOs' Strategies for Transitioning to Value-Based Care: Lessons From the Medicare Shared Savings Program, 07/2019, view details
  • IHS Needs to Improve Oversight of Its Hospitals' Opioid Prescribing and Dispensing Practices and Consider Centralizing Its Information Technology Functions, 07/2019, view details
  • Indian Health Service Has Strengthened Patient Protection Policies but Must Fully Integrate Them into Practice and Organizational Culture, 12/2019, view details
  • Organizational Challenges to Improving Quality of Care in Indian Health Service Hospitals, 08/2019, view details
  • Provider Shortages and Limited Availability of Behavioral Health Services in New Mexico's Medicaid Managed Care, 09/2019, view details
  • Rosebud Hospital: Indian Health Service Management of Emergency Department Closure and Reopening, A Case Study, 07/2019, view details
  • Solutions to Reduce Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in HHS Programs: OIG's Top Recommendations, 07/2019, view details

2018

  • The Indian Health Service Did Not Always Resolve Audit Recommendations in Accordance With Federal Requirements, 09/2018, view details
  • Significant Vulnerabilities Exist in the Hospital Wage Index System for Medicare Payments, 11/2018, view details

2016

  • Hospitals Largely Reported Addressing Requirements for EHR Contingency Plans, 07/2016, view details
  • Indian Health Service Hospitals: Longstanding Challenges Warrant Focused Attention to Support Quality Care, 10/2016, view details
  • Indian Health Service Hospitals: More Monitoring Needed to Ensure Quality Care, 10/2016, view details

2015

  • Medicare Could Have Saved Billions at Critical Access Hospitals If Swing-Bed Services Were Reimbursed Using the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Rates, 03/2015, view details
  • OIG Advisory Opinion No. 15-13, 10/2015, view details

2014

  • CMS Has Yet to Enforce a Statutory Provision Related to Rural Health Clinics, 09/2014, view details
  • Compendium of Priority Recommendations: March 2014, 03/2014, view details
  • Medicare Beneficiaries Paid Nearly Half of the Costs for Outpatient Services at Critical Access Hospitals, 10/2014, view details

2013

  • Most Critical Access Hospitals Would Not Meet the Location Requirements if Required to Re-Enroll in Medicare, 08/2013, view details

2011

  • Access to Mental Health Services at Indian Health Service and Tribal Facilities, 09/2011, view details

2008

  • Review of the Relationship between Medicare Part D Payments to Local, Community Pharmacies and the Pharmacies' Drug Acquisition Costs, 01/2008, view details

2007

  • Retail Pharmacy Participation in Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans in 2006, 06/2007, view details

2005

  • Status of the Rural Health Clinic Program, 08/2005, view details

2003

  • Trends in Rural Hospital Closure: 1990 - 2000, 05/2003, view details

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1996

1995

1994

1993

  • Medical Assistance Facilities: A Demonstration Program to Provide Access to Health Care in Frontier Communities, 07/1993, view details
  • Trends in Rural Hospital Closure: 1987-1991, 07/1993, view details

1992

1991

1990

1989

Undated

  • HHS OIG All Reports and Publications, Top Unimplemented Recommendations, view details
  • HHS OIG Recommendations Tracker, view details