OIG recommends 25 changes to help HHS save money

In the March issue of the Compendium of Unimplemented Recommendations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Inspector Generals (OIG) offers 25 recommendations to help the HHS save money while improving quality.

The recommendations in the core publication of the OIG seek to enhance program efficiency in order to guarantee quality of care and safety of beneficiaries.

Gathered from OIG audits and evaluations, the top 25 unimplemented recommendations are in the areas of: payment policies and practices; billing and payment; contractor oversight; grants and contracts; program and financial management; 
quality of care and service; emergency preparedness and response; health information technology; program integrity; the Affordable Care Act; and financial stewardship. 

Among the 25 recommendations, the OIG suggested that Medicare could save approximately $602.5 million through implementing a hospital transfer payment policy for early discharge to hospice care.

Other significant savings recommendations included $308 million for Medicare and beneficiaries if the diagnosis-related group (DRG) window was expanded to include other hospital ownership arrangements.

Implementation of OIG’s recommendations usually requires legislative, regulatory or administrative action.

The full document is available at http://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/compendium/files/compendium2015.pdf