Issues that arose during the pandemic caused GAO to add HHS leadership and coordination of public health emergencies. Image: ungvar/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffGAO has said that federal agencies have carried out only 134 of the 386 recommendations it has made regarding the pandemic in areas ranging from general public health preparedness to improper payments and fraud in the distribution of relief funding.
A report said that while the national health emergency has been declared over, “the nation is still recovering from the public health and economic effects of the pandemic and needs to be better prepared for future emergencies . . . The intent of these recommendations was for agencies to implement mid-course corrections where appropriate and to increase transparency and accountability of the federal COVID-19 response and for future emergencies.”
Issues that arose during the pandemic caused GAO to add HHS leadership and coordination of public health emergencies and the unemployment insurance program to its list of federal programs at high risk of mismanagement and waste, it noted.
It said that recommendations still pending fall into general areas including:
Public health preparedness—GAO called for better sharing of information among federal and other agencies to ensure access to real-time information about emerging threats and access to diagnostic testing and medical countermeasures—such as drugs, vaccines, and supplies.
Payment errors and fraud—“As federal agencies sought to expedite payments to individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic, they used some processes that can increase fraud risk,” it said, citing findings of high levels of fraud in programs including unemployment insurance, emergency rental assistance and a restaurant revitalization fund.
Delays in distributing approved funding—“While funding was available to help those affected by COVID-19, there were challenges in quickly getting this funding to those who needed it. This was even more difficult for new programs and existing programs that had to be scaled up to meet public need,” it said.
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