The Office of Inspector General at Health and Human Services has been spending more money and achieving fewer results for years. And it’s not clear whether anyone is paying attention or even cares to hold the office accountable.
Data taken from the HHS OIG’s reports to Congress from 2014-2019 and President’s Budget Requests from the same years show the audit agency’s budget has trended upward since 2012, increasing by 16 percent. Meanwhile, the IG office’s returns on investment (ROI), the numbers of audits and evaluations issued, and the number of investigations started and completed have gone down over the same time frame. And a recently retired HHS OIG analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said certain personnel decisions have exacerbated the issue.
During a time of constricted budgets, a push by the Trump administration and Congress to get more value out of every dollar spent, it’s unclear why the HHS OIG returns and productivity are dropping as…” Read the full article here.
Source: Federal News Radio, Why does HHS OIG’s budget keep rising as its output keeps falling? – By David Thornton, August 6, 2018 1:44 pm.
