Watchdog adds HHS to 'High Risk List' © Getty Images The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has failed to correct longstanding issues related to its ability to respond to public health emergencies, according to a nonpartisan government watchdog report. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Thursday added HHS to its "High Risk List" of federal departments and programs susceptible to waste, fraud and abuse without significant changes. "For over a decade, we have found issues with how HHS's leadership prepares for and responds to emergencies, including COVID-19, other infectious diseases, and extreme weather events, such as hurricanes," GAO wrote in the report, which was shared with Congress. "If left unaddressed, these deficiencies will continue to hamper the nation’s ability to be prepared for, and effectively respond to, future threats. As devastating as the COVID-19 pandemic has been, more frequent extreme weather events, new viruses, and bad actors who threaten to cause intentional harm loom, making the deficiencies we have identified particularly concerning," the report added. Long time coming: GAO in the report said it gave the agency 115 different recommendations to implement since fiscal year 2007; 72 of those remain open. Among the more recent: HHS did not work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop plans to mitigate supply chain shortages for the remainder of the pandemic. HHS has also yet to develop a comprehensive and publicly available testing strategy, which GAO recommended it do in January 2021. Read more here. |
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