All Reports

Holds future third-party administrators accountable for operational readiness and provider network adequacy at each facility by the time the contracts are implemented.

Develops a process to make sure the third-party administrators regularly update their Community Care Network provider lists to reflect accurate provider contact information and annotate providers who are not currently accepting VA patients.

Develops a mechanism for facilities to effectively report, track, and monitor challenges with access to specialty care services; trains all relevant staff on how to use the mechanism; make sure facilities use the mechanism routinely; and then helps facilities resolve access challenges.

Develops and communicates to facilities a standard process to request and document their needs for additional providers.

Evaluates the effectiveness of the third-party administrators’ quarterly and monthly reports for assessing network adequacy and then, if needed, modifies the language in its current contracts and makes changes to the applicable contract language for future Community Care Network contracts.

Develops its own network adequacy performance reports for each facility and communicates the results to the facilities monthly.

Conducts Advanced Medical Cost Management Solution training for community care staff at each facility on evaluating network adequacy through the tool.

Routinely evaluates the third-party administrator’s network adequacy performance reports to ensure the reports are sufficiently reliable and comply with contract requirements, and then holds third-party administrators accountable for resolving identified issues.

Mediate the two offices’ collaboration to develop and publish updates to the personnel security policies and procedures for vetting contractor employees to include appropriate roles and responsibilities; standard contract language to communicate the requirements for vetting contractor employees, including whether a fingerprint check or background investigation is required, that can be used across the department; and a requirement that the VA organization requesting a contract provide the position designation record in the acquisition package submitted to the contracting office.

Perform and document compliance inspections of the procedures for vetting contractor employees and the issuance of VA identification credentials at medical facilities supported by Network Contracting Office 23, including the St. Cloud VA Medical Center.

Update and publish the Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation and Veterans Affairs Acquisition Manual to direct the department’s acquisition professionals to the correct guidance for vetting contractor employees, which should include VA’s personnel security and suitability program policy.

Update and publish or rescind Acquisition Policy Flash 16-13, “Use of VA Handbook 6500.6, Appendix A, Checklist for Information Security in VA Service Acquisitions,” to ensure VA acquisition professionals understand that VA Handbook 6500.6 is not the only personnel security policy they must comply with.

Update and publish VA Handbook 6500.6, Contract Security, in collaboration with the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction and the Office of Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness, including retitling it to better correspond to its content and removing any personnel security steps that should only be discussed in VA personnel security and suitability program policies.

Review the actions of the officials responsible for planning, awarding, and administering contract 36C26320A0021, which included vetting procedures that did not comply with federal or VA policies, and take administrative action if appropriate.

Develop and implement a strategy with milestones for identifying all VA websites, confirm their inclusion in VA’s Web Registry as the current system designated by policy, and certify the accuracy of entries annually or as changes occur.

Establish a mechanism for web communication offices across VA to enforce the implementation of VA Handbook 6102 related to Section 508 compliance.

Coordinate with VA under secretaries and other assistant secretaries to ensure system owners are educated on VA Directive 6221 and its accompanying handbook requirements to request accessibility audits.

Institute a mechanism to ensure information technology system accessibility designations are accurate in the VA Systems Inventory.

Update, recertify, and republish VA Directives 6221 (accessible information and communications technology) and 6404 (systems inventory).

Update, recertify, and publish VA Directive 6515 (use of web-based collaboration technologies).

Develop specific policy and procedures to ensure the contractor’s investment grade audit, which includes the contractor’s energy baseline and cost savings estimates, are witnessed and validated per Federal Energy Management Program guidelines.

Publish criteria for payments for energy savings performance contracts to ensure compliance with federal law and Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program guidance.

Develop procedures to ensure contracting officer’s representatives or other contracting officer designees have independently witnessed and validated the contractor’s energy baseline and savings estimates prior to negotiating energy savings performance contracts’ guaranteed savings amounts.

Develop oversight procedures to ensure documentation that demonstrates the contractor’s energy baseline and energy savings estimates were witnessed and validated is maintained in the official contracting records.

The executive director of VA’s Office of Construction and Facilities Management should confirm seismic evaluations are done for all critical and essential buildings in high and very high seismic zones immediately to ensure they meet life, safety, and occupancy performance standards

The executive director of the Office of Construction and Facilities Management should review the Capital Asset Inventory and work with Veterans Health Administration Office of Capital Asset Management, Veterans Integrated Service Network capital asset managers, and VA medical facility engineers to update and correct inaccurate seismic data in the Capital Asset Inventory.

The executive director of the Office of Construction and Facilities Management should submit change requests to the Capital Asset Inventory so that critical and essential designations are visible to medical center engineers and Veterans Integrated Service Network capital asset managers.

The executive director of the Office of Asset Enterprise Management should ensure facilities and Veterans Integrated Service Networks review critical and essential designations as part of their annual certifications of the Capital Asset Inventory.

Implement oversight, monitoring, and quality assurance mechanisms that routinely ensure all goods received by the Denver Logistics Center are accurately and promptly recorded in the inventory management system at the time of receipt.

Properly record all apnea stock in the inventory management system.

Ensure Denver Logistics Center management routinely assess the appropriateness of manual adjustments to the inventory system and document the findings and causes, review trends in error codes, and develop action plans to minimize inaccuracies in future physical counts.

Strengthen controls over inventory adjustments to ensure the accountable officer or designee reviews and approves supply variances above an established threshold.

Establish and implement policy that clearly defines roles and responsibilities for Denver Logistics Center logistics and warehouse employees, separates duties to avoid conflicts of interest, and enhances the quality assurance function.

Establish and implement formal policies and procedures specific for inventory management operations at the Denver Logistics Center, to include cycle counts, regular inventory audits, adjustments and forecasting demand, safety levels, reordering, and tools to allow for automated scanning.

Develop and deliver formal training to logistics and warehouse staff on inventory management policies, procedures, and tools.

Implement routine reporting of all Denver Logistics Center inventory adjustments to the National Acquisition Center and the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction.

Ensure the Denver Logistics Center staff complete reports of survey for adjustments to inventory in accordance with VA logistics management policy, and communicate such information to the National Acquisition Center.

Address the physical security issues identified and develop, implement, and provide initial and recurring training and guidance to Denver Logistics Center’s logistics, distribution, and contract staff on proper physical security controls and procedures, including the proper disposal of personally identifiable information.

Conduct an independent, comprehensive, and multiyear financial audit that includes wall-to-wall inventory assessments of the Denver Logistics Center.

Transfer the stewardship and responsibility for Denver Logistics Center systems to the Office of Information and Technology.

In collaboration with the Office of Information and Technology, establish information system controls for user access, segregation of duties designations, permission access, and privilege access for the inventory management systems and data.

Establish and perform routine reviews of the access levels for users with direct access to the inventory management systems and ensure that access is limited to those who have a defined business purpose.

In collaboration with the Office of Information and Technology, ensure the Denver Logistics Center meets physical access, security, and contingency planning requirements for its information management systems.

Establish a connection for Denver Logistics Center inventory data to VA’s Corporate Data Warehouse.

In collaboration with the Office of Information and Technology, ensure the information technology system application does not bypass internal control restrictions, has a complete audit trail, and does not introduce errors in the information system.

Ensure the Denver Logistics Center develops and maintains comprehensive documentation of the information system to support operations and train information resource management staff.

Ensure security documentation accurately supports the proper controls are implemented, tested, and representative of the system security.

Clarify guidance to ensure it includes local dialysis contract options and specifically defines when they should be used.

Establish roles and responsibilities to ensure dialysis coordinators follow required procedures when referring veterans to dialysis care in the community.

Develop and implement a plan to regularly examine and validate dialysis provider information in the Provider Profile Management System for accuracy and completeness.

Develop and implement a strategy to ensure that any new dialysis service contracts follow the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018 payment rate requirements.

Establish a process to identify and track veterans’ files for those determined to have fire-damaged or destroyed records, such as adding a corporate flash, and update the Adjudication Procedural Manual indicating when veterans service representatives should apply such procedures.

Instruct veterans service representatives on the process for requesting service treatment and military service records for fire-related records, which includes more specific guidance on what information is required for the National Personnel Records Center to locate veterans’ records.

Ensure veterans service representatives are made aware of and follow steps as outlined in the manual for when to send required forms and conduct follow-up contact with veterans.

The director of the Office of Healthcare Engineering should revise the Water Safety Management Tool to alert Veterans Integrated Service Network and medical facility oversight officials when quarterly testing data is not posted.

The assistant under secretary for health for operations should take actions to confirm that Veterans Integrated Service Network officials are ensuring front-line staff are routinely notified by responsible medical facility officials when elevated Legionella water sample levels require diagnostic awareness and additional clinical surveillance of veterans to detect Legionnaires’ disease.

The assistant secretary for information and technology continue to improve criteria and processes for submitting claims for recoupment of service credits.

The assistant secretary for information and technology assign roles and responsibilities for submitting claims for service credits and monitoring outcomes.

Develop and implement procedures to ensure the Veteran Readiness and Employment Service has properly researched and clearly understands changes to the laws and regulations that govern Chapter 31–only schools and training programs.

Review the existing manual requirements for waivers and coordinate with appropriate officials to ensure amendments to 38 United States Code § 3104(b) have been properly implemented and included in the manual.

Train all appropriate Veteran Readiness and Employment Service regional office staff to ensure waivers are obtained for each veteran with the required documentation in accordance with the manual before approval to attend a Chapter 31–only school or training program.

Coordinate with appropriate officials to determine whether the existing manual guidance for compliance surveys meets the requirements of 38 United States Code § 3693 as it applies to Chapter 31–only schools and training programs, and if necessary, update the manual and train appropriate Veteran Readiness and Employment Service regional office staff accordingly.

Develop and implement monitoring processes—to include veteran waivers, compliance surveys, and completeness of electronic folders—to provide Veteran Readiness and Employment Service reasonable assurance that Chapter 31–only schools and training programs are used as intended by law and regulations.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits assess the loan comparison statement controls implemented in December 2021 and 2022 to ensure they operate as planned and confirm borrowers receive these statements as required.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits seek a legal opinion from the VA’s Office of General Counsel on the allowability of fees initially charged as itemized fees to be retroactively accepted as part of the 1 percent flat charge if unsupported, and then review the potential overcharges identified in the audit sample to determine if action is needed to make the borrowers whole.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits revise policies and procedures to comply with federal regulations on the itemization of costs charged under the 1 percent flat charge to ensure closing costs are properly charged.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits obtain a legal opinion from the VA’s Office of General Counsel on the allowability of mortgage brokerage fees charged under the 1 percent flat charge, and then review the potential overcharge identified in the audit sample to determine if action is needed to make the borrower whole.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits provide lenders at least annual communication about the importance of providing justifications for any loans not reported within 60 days.

The OIG recommended the under secretary for benefits update policies and procedures to ensure the borrower is reimbursed for any overcharges identified during regional loan center quality reviews.

Implement consistent data entry, standardized organizational codes, and periodic reviews for HR Smart community care data.

Develop staffing reports that can be searched by service departments to ensure appropriate resources to meet their assigned missions.

Assess the use of monetary and nonmonetary incentives to evaluate whether they are effective in recruiting and retaining administrative staff within community care departments.

Establish guidance that outlines the type of documentation required to support the amounts identified in the manual journal vouchers when processing expenditure transfers.

Implement controls to mitigate the risk that data are unreliable and inconsistently recorded between eCMS and iFAMS when staff deobligate funds for converted contracts.

Implement a process that provides formal acknowledgment on whether requests related to high-priority business intelligence reports have been accepted as requirements.