OIG releases strategic plan for 2014-2018

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) plans to keep Medicare fraud at the top of its priorities for the next four years. OIG’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2014-2018, released this week, targets misuse of federal healthcare funds on multiple fronts, including investigation of fraud, accountability of Medicare abusers, reclamation of misspend funds and promotion of financial stewardship.

Advancing excellence in the nation’s healthcare services and securing its future also are named as top goals in the strategic plan, which notes the importance of leadership, vision, diversity and technology to the overall health and growth of the U.S. healthcare system.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) 2013 Agency Financial Report, also released this week, echoes the OIG strategies, noting that strong focus needs to remain on chronic disease prevention, national healthcare quality initiatives (such as the reduction of healthcare-associated infections) and continued crackdowns on improper Medicare billing.

One of HHS’ early 2014 goals also surely will be shoring up the healthcare.gov website and ironing out the healthcare marketplace enrollment procedures—two keys to the agency’s own goal to “ensure efficiency, transparency, accountability and effectiveness” of the healthcare system’s processes, notes the HHS agency document.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.