Labs Figure Prominently in OIG’s Newest Top 10 Challenges List

Although the OIG has its flaws, lack of transparency is not among them. Exhibit A: the agency’s ongoing list of top 10 management and performance challenges facing the Department of Health and Human Services in the coming year. As it usually does, maintaining program integrity tops the newest list. And while not expressly spelled out, we all know that “program integrity” is code for billing and payment of lab and diagnostic services, among other things. Here’s the entire Top 10. While most are re-runs, there are a few new items (denoted by the asterisk):

1. Ensure Medicare Program Integrity
2. Ensure Medicaid Program Integrity
3. Curb the Opioid Epidemic*
4. Improve Care for Vulnerable Populations
5. Ensure Integrity in Managed Care and Other Programs Delivered via Private Insurers
6. Improve Financial and Administrative Management and Reduce Improper Payments
7. Protect Integrity of Public HHS Grants
8. Ensure Safety of Food, Drugs and Medical Devices
9. Ensure Program Integrity and Quality in American Indian and Alaska Native Populations Programs*
10. Protect HHS Data, Systems and Beneficiaries from Cyber Threats.