GAO called on OWCP to develop a legislative proposal to enter into a data-matching agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services to identify FECA claimants who have earnings reported in the national directory of new hires.
It also called on OWCP to revise its program performance measures to emphasize payment accuracy, adequate internal controls, and overpayment recoveries, as well as to collect more detailed information on improper payments, namely their causes, and use that data to better identify improper payment risks and to address areas of high risk.
Labor indicated that it is taking a number of steps that are consistent with the recommendations, but stated that FECA overpayments and underpayments should not be considered improper because Labor adjusts them once additional information becomes available.
Labor also stated that system improvements and staff training have improved its data and processing of overpayments, something GAO acknowledged.
However, GAO attributed the improvements to a greater focus on these payments since the review began, and said this underscores the need to balance service delivery with payment accuracy.
It also recommended that OWCP reduce common causes of improper payments by requiring agencies to report to OWCP when a FECA claimant returns to work and providing incentives for doing so.
Further, GAO called on OWCP to focus more attention on payment recovery, by, for example, collecting more detailed information on how overpayments are resolved and holding staff accountable for timely processing.
