Limited access to necessary data could hamper agencies in their ability to effectively monitor claims under the Federal Employees Compensation Act, GAO has said.
The stakes are high. About 250,000 federal and postal employees and their survivors received wage-loss compensation, medical and vocational rehabilitation services, and death benefits through the FECA program in 2010, according to the Department of Labor, which estimates future actuarial liabilities at around $30 billion.
GAO said it has identified some promising practices that could help reduce fraud with the FECA program, such as the use of full-time staff dedicated to the FECA program, periodic reviews of claimants’ continued eligibility, data analysis for potential fraud indicators, and effective use of investigative resources.
These practices have resulted in successful investigations and prosecutions of FECA-related fraud at some agencies, and could help to further enhance the program’s fraud-prevention controls, according to GAO-12-402.
It said however the reliance on self-reported data related to wages and dependent status, lack of a physician selected by the government throughout the process, and difficulties associated with successful investigations and prosecutions all potentially reduce the program’s ability to prevent and detect fraudulent activity.
