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Open Recommendations

VA Health Care: Additional Assessments of Mileage Reimbursement Data and Veterans' Travel Costs Needed
GAO-24-106816
May 28, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Veterans Affairs The Under Secretary for Health should collect and assess information on subpopulations of veterans' use of the mileage reimbursement benefit and identify options, as appropriate, to help improve access to care for underserved veterans. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Under Secretary for Health should collect additional information on veterans' travel costs and assess costs by demographic, geographic, or other subpopulations to inform evidence-based decisions about transportation programs' resources. This additional information could include fuel costs and the cost of vehicle maintenance, accessories, parts, and tires. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Under Secretary for Health should finalize and implement an outreach plan for improving veterans' awareness of aspects of the mileage reimbursement benefit. The plan should include outcome-oriented performance measures and appropriate communication methods, based on factors such as the intended audience. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Under Secretary for Health should evaluate the effectiveness of the outreach plan for improving veterans' awareness of the benefit, and revise communication methods as appropriate. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Military Health Care: DOD and VA Could Benefit from More Information on Staff Use of Military Toxic Exposure Records
GAO-24-106423
May 23, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs should ensure that the Deployment Health Work Group establishes goals with performance measures on the extent of ILER use by types of staff and purpose within DOD and VA (Recommendation 1).
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs should ensure that the Deployment Health Work Group or other relevant entities, such as the ILER Steering Group, use the data collected for the goals' performance measures to inform management decisions, including outreach, training, or other efforts that support the appropriate use of ILER (Recommendation 2).
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Veterans Affairs The VA Under Secretary for Health should ensure that the Deployment Health Work Group establishes goals with performance measures on the extent of ILER use by types of staff and purpose within DOD and VA (Recommendation 3).
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Veterans Affairs The VA Under Secretary for Health should ensure that the Deployment Health Work Group or other relevant entities, such as the ILER Steering Group, use the data collected for the goals' performance measures to inform management decisions, including outreach, training, or other efforts that support the appropriate use of ILER (Recommendation 4).
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Medicare Hospice: CMS Needs to Fully Implement Statutory Provisions and Prioritize Certain Overdue Surveys
GAO-24-106442
May 08, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The CMS Administrator should fully implement the new enforcement tools, including issuing planned internal guidance, to enable the agency to use these tools to address hospices out of compliance with Medicare quality standards. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The CMS Administrator should make hospice survey results publicly available on Care Compare such that the information is prominent, easily accessible, and readily understandable. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The CMS Administrator should fully implement efforts to measure and reduce inconsistency in survey results among all surveyors, including SAs and AOs. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The CMS Administrator should instruct SAs and AOs to prioritize the completion of standard surveys for hospices that are overdue for a survey based on potential risk factors, which could include the amount of time overdue or evidence of past quality issues. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Public Health Preparedness: HHS Should Address Strategic National Stockpile Coordination Challenges
GAO-24-106260
May 02, 2024
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response should work with CDC to clearly define ASPR's and CDC's roles and responsibilities related to the SNS in a formal document and share that document with jurisdictions. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response should develop standard operating procedures, outlining how and when guidance documents, such as those for requesting and receiving SNS assets, are updated. Consistent with GAO's Standards for Internal Control, these standard operating procedures should include internal review processes, opportunities for stakeholder feedback, and timeframes for updating. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response The Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response should formally designate an entity—such as the Office of SLTT Preparedness—to regularly engage with Tribes and relevant stakeholders to (1) assess the unique challenges, such as infrastructure and geography, that could affect the delivery of SNS assets to Tribes during future emergencies and (2) develop options for how to address those challenges. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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