OIG: HRSA Made Up to $784 Million in Payments to Providers for COVID-19 Testing and Treatment for Services That Did Not Comply with Federal Requirements
- July 21, 2023
Payments made by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the Uninsured Program (UIP) for 58 of 300 sampled patients—totaling $294,294—were improper because they were made on behalf of individuals who had health insurance coverage or were made for testing and treatment services that were not provided or were unrelated to COVID-19, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) said in a report posted July 18.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, together appropriated $2 billion to reimburse eligible hospitals and other health care providers for conducting COVID-19 testing and testing-related items and services for the uninsured.
The audit report assessed claims for COVID-19 testing and treatment services for uninsured individuals provided during March through December 2020 and reimbursed through the UIP.
While OIG acknowledged that HRSA’s operational objective for the UIP was to rapidly disburse funds to ensure uninsured individuals were receiving vital health care services, the audit report estimated on the basis of its sample results that nearly $784 million (19%) of the $4.2 billion in total UIP payments made to providers during the audit period were improper.
OIG recommended that HRSA: (1) recover the $294,294 in improper UIP payments identified in OIG’s sample; (2) identify additional improper UIP payments for services provided to insured individuals or services unrelated to COVID-19 and take remedial action; and (3) commit to strengthening its procedures that may apply to future programs of a similar nature.
Read the report, HRSA Made COVID-19 Uninsured Program Payments to Providers on Behalf of Individuals Who Had Health Insurance Coverage and for Services Unrelated to COVID-19 (A-02-21-01013).