Improper Payments: Federal Executive Branch Agencies' Fiscal Year
2007 Improper Payment Estimate Reporting (23-JAN-08,		 
GAO-08-377R).							 
                                                                 
In the fourth year of implementation of the Improper Payments	 
Information Act of 2002 (IPIA), major executive branch agencies  
reported a total improper payment estimate of about $55 billion  
for fiscal year 2007. This increase from the prior year estimate 
of $41 billion was primarily attributable to a component of the  
Medicaid program reporting improper payments for the first time  
totaling about $13 billion for fiscal year 2007. We view this	 
increased reporting as a positive step to improve transparency	 
over the full magnitude of improper payments across the federal  
government. As Congress requested, the objective of this report  
is to provide summary data and preliminary analysis of the	 
improper payment estimates reported by federal executive branch  
agencies (federal agencies) in their fiscal year 2007 performance
and accountability reports (PAR) or annual reports.		 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-08-377R					        
    ACCNO:   A80075						        
  TITLE:     Improper Payments: Federal Executive Branch Agencies'    
Fiscal Year 2007 Improper Payment Estimate Reporting		 
     DATE:   01/23/2008 
  SUBJECT:   Accountability					 
	     Data integrity					 
	     Erroneous payments 				 
	     Executive agencies 				 
	     Federal/state relations				 
	     Financial management				 
	     Financial statements				 
	     Performance measures				 
	     Program evaluation 				 
	     Reporting requirements				 
	     State-administered programs			 
	     Program management 				 
	     Payments						 
	     Medicaid						 
	     Executive agency oversight 			 
	     Transparency					 

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GAO-08-377R

   

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January 23, 2008

The Honorable Tom Carper
Chairman
The Honorable Tom Coburn Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information,
Federal Services, and International Security
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate

Subject: Improper Payments: Federal Executive Branch Agencies' Fiscal Year
2007 Improper Payment Estimate Reporting

In the fourth year of implementation of the Improper Payments Information
Act of 2002^1 (IPIA), major executive branch agencies reported a total
improper payment estimate of about $55 billion for fiscal year 2007. (See
the enclosure for further details.) This increase from the prior year
estimate of $41 billion^2 was primarily attributable to a component of the
Medicaid program reporting improper payments for the first time totaling
about $13 billion for fiscal year 2007. We view this increased reporting
as a positive step to improve transparency over the full magnitude of
improper payments across the federal government.

As you requested, the objective of this report is to provide summary data
and preliminary analysis of the improper payment estimates reported by
federal executive branch agencies (federal agencies) in their fiscal year
2007 performance and accountability reports (PAR) or annual reports. We
obtained this information during our audit of the U.S. Consolidated
Financial Statements for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007.^3 We
reviewed improper payment information reported in the fiscal year 2007
PARs or annual reports by 30 of the 35 federal agencies, including
government corporations, that the Department of the Treasury determined to
be significant to the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements.
The remaining 5 agencies are either federal corporations with a different
year-end reporting date or had not issued their PAR or annual reports as
of the end of our fieldwork for the consolidated audit.

^1Pub. L. No. 107-300, 116 Stat. 2350 (Nov. 26, 2002).

^2In their fiscal year 2007 performance and accountability reports or
annual reports, certain federal agencies updated their fiscal year 2006
improper payment estimates to reflect changes since issuance of their
fiscal year 2006 PARs or annual reports. These updates decreased the
governmentwide improper payment estimate for fiscal year 2006 from $42
billion to $41 billion.

^3See GAO's report on its audit of the federal government's fiscal year
2007 financial statements that was incorporated in the 2007 Financial
Report of the United States Government published by the Department of the
Treasury.

Of the 30 agencies included in our review, 21 agencies reported improper
payment estimates in their PAR. Of the remaining 9 agencies that did not
report estimates, 8 reported they did not have any programs or activities
susceptible to significant improper payments, and the reporting for
another agency did not include any information about whether it had
programs susceptible to significant improper payments. We did not
independently validate the data reported in these agencies' PARs or annual
reports. However, consistent with our reporting objective, we are
providing agency-reported data as descriptive information that will inform
interested parties about the relative magnitude of governmentwide improper
payments and other improper payment-related information. We believe the
data to be sufficiently reliable for this purpose. We provided a draft of
this report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review
and comment. OMB provided technical comments that we incorporated as
appropriate. We conducted this performance audit from November 2007 to
January 2008, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings
and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

The fiscal year 2007 estimate of about $55 billion represents improper
payments for 78 programs in 21 agencies, an increase from the 20 agencies
and 60 programs that made up the fiscal year 2006 estimate. The $55
billion estimate also represents about 2 percent of total fiscal year 2007
federal executive branch agencies' government outlays of almost $2.8
trillion and largely consists of improper payments made in eight programs
(as shown in fig. 1). Collectively, the eight programs account for about
$48 billion or approximately 88 percent of the total estimate.

Figure 1: Fiscal Year 2007 Improper Payment Estimates by Program (dollars
in billions)

The largest estimate was related to the Department of Health and Human
Services' (HHS) Medicaid program with estimated improper payments of about
$13 billion. However, the $13 billion improper payment estimate relates
only to the fee-for-service component of the Medicaid program^4 and is
based on 6 months of fee-for-service claims^5 processed by the states,
rather than a complete fiscal year.^6 HHS reported that in fiscal year
2008, it expects to report a comprehensive national Medicaid error rate
that includes not only its fee-for-service, but also its managed care,^7
and eligibility components.

Our review found that some agencies still have not developed improper
payment estimates for all of their programs and activities identified as
susceptible to significant improper payments. As shown in table 1, the
fiscal year 2007 total improper payment estimate did not include any
amounts for 14 programs, with fiscal year 2007 outlays totaling about $170
billion.

^4Fee-for-service is a traditional method of medical services under which
providers are paid for each service rendered.

^5The fiscal year 2007 Medicaid estimate is based on fiscal year 2006
processed claims.

^6Generally, OMB requires agencies to use a 12-month reporting period when
estimating improper payments.

^7Managed care is any system of delivering health services through a
specified network of doctors and hospitals that agree to comply with the
care approaches established by a care-management process.

Table 1: Risk-Susceptible Programs That Did Not Report Improper Payment
Estimates for Fiscal Year 2007

1; 
Agency--program: Agency--program: Department of Health and Human 
Services--Child Care and Development Fund[A]; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $4.9; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

2; 
Agency--program: Department of Health and Human Services--Medicare 
Advantage; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $75.1; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: Did not report 
target date. 

3; 
Agency--program: Department of Health and Human Services--Medicare 
Prescription Drug Benefit; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $49.3; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: Did not report 
target date. 

4; 
Agency--program: Department of Health and Human Services--State 
Children's Health Insurance Program[A]; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $6.3; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

5; 
Agency--program: Department of Health and Human Services--Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families[A]; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $17.3; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

6; 
Agency--program: Department of Homeland Security--Federal Emergency 
Management Agency--Assistance to Firefighters Grants; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $0.5; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

7; 
Agency--program: Department of Homeland Security--Federal Emergency 
Management Agency--Homeland Security Grant Program; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $0.8; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

8; 
Agency--program: Department of Homeland Security--Federal Emergency 
Management Agency--Infrastructure Protection Program; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $0.12; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

9; 
Agency--program: Department of Homeland Security--Federal Emergency 
Management Agency--National Flood Insurance Program; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $1.5; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

10; 
Agency--program: Department of Homeland Security--Federal Emergency 
Management Agency--Public Assistance Programs; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $5.1; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

11; 
Agency--program: Department of Homeland Security--Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement--Detention and Removal Operations; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $1.2; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

12; 
Agency--program: Department of Homeland Security--Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement--Investigations; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $1.1; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

13; 
Agency--program: Department of Homeland Security--Transportation 
Security Administration--Aviation Security--Payroll; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $2.9; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

14; 
Agency--program: Department of Homeland Security--United States Coast 
Guard-- Military Payroll; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $3.5; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: 2008. 

Total; 
Agency--program: [Empty]; 
Fiscal year 2007 outlays (dollars in billions): $169.6; 
Target date for reporting improper payment estimate: [Empty]. 

Source: GAO's analysis of agencies' fiscal year 2007 PARs or annual
reports.

^aOMB required program to submit improper payment information prior to
governmentwide IPIA reporting requirements. See footnote 8 of this report
for a detailed description.

A majority of these programs represent newly identified risk-susceptible
programs reported by the Department of Homeland Security. The completion
of risk-susceptibility assessments on programs is a positive step toward
addressing IPIA requirements. We also found, however, that three HHS
programs had not reported improper payment estimates for fiscal year 2007,
although OMB required these and other programs to report selected improper
payment information for several years before passage of IPIA.^8 After the
enactment of IPIA, OMB's implementing guidance^9 required that these
programs continue to report improper payment information under IPIA.

HHS reported in its fiscal year 2007 PAR that pilot reviews were conducted
in various states for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and
Child Care and Development Fund programs and that estimated improper
payment rates for these programs would be reported in fiscal year 2008.
Further, HHS reported that it also expects to report a comprehensive
improper payment estimate rate for the State Children's Health Insurance
Program (SCHIP) that will encompass its fee-for-service, managed care, and
eligibility components. We recognize that measuring improper payments for
these state-administered^10 programs and designing and implementing
actions to reduce or eliminate them are not simple tasks, particularly for
grant programs that rely on administration efforts at the state level.
Consequently, as we previously reported in April 2006,^11 communication,
coordination, and cooperation among federal agencies and the states will
be critical factors in estimating national improper payment rates and
meeting IPIA reporting requirements for state-administered programs.

Conclusion

While federal executive agencies continued to improve their implementation
of IPIA in fiscal year 2007, fulfilling the requirements of IPIA will
require sustained attention to implementation and oversight. Preventing,
identifying, and recovering improper payments, in that order, are what is
needed across the federal government to manage, and ultimately minimize,
such payments. As you have requested, we will continue to analyze the
fiscal year 2007 results and provide updated and more detailed information
of IPIA implementation results.

                                  ___________

^8Prior to governmentwide IPIA reporting requirements beginning with
fiscal year 2004, former section 57 of OMB Circular No. A-11 required
certain agencies to submit similar information, including estimated
improper payment target rates, target rates for future reductions in these
payments, the types and causes of these payments, and variances from
established targets and goals. In addition, these agencies were to provide
a description and assessment of the current methods for measuring the rate
of improper payments and the quality of data resulting from these methods.

^9OMB, Circular No. A-123, Appendix C, Requirements for Effective
Measurement and Remediation of Improper Payments (Aug. 10, 2006).

^10The term "state-administered" refers to federal programs that are
managed on a day-to-day basis at the state level to carry out program
objectives.

^11GAO, Improper Payments: Federal and State Coordination Needed to Report
National Improper Payment Estimates on Federal Programs, GAO-06-347
(Washington, D.C.: Apr. 14, 2006).

We are sending copies of this report to the Director, Office of Management
and Budget; appropriate congressional committees; and other interested
parties. We will also make copies available at no charge on GAO's Web site
at [8]http://www.gao.gov . If you or your staff members have any
questions, please contact me at (202) 512-2600 or [9][email protected] .
Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public
Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. Major contributors
to this report were Carla Lewis, Assistant Director; Donell Ries; and Viny
Talwar.

McCoy Williams
Managing Director, Financial Management and Assurance

Enclosure

Enclosure

Improper Payment Estimates Reported in Federal Executive Branch Agencies'
Fiscal Year 2007 Performance and Accountability Reports or Annual Reports

                                                            Fiscal            
                                                         year 2007            
                                                             Total            
                                                          estimate     Fiscal 
                                                          (dollars  year 2007 
      Department or                                             in Error rate 
      agency             Program or activity             millions)  (percent) 
1  Agency for      1  Cash Transfers                        3.0        0.2 
      International                                                           
      Development                                                             
                      2  Cooperative Agreements, Grants,      96.0        1.2 
                         and Contracts                                        
2  Department of   3  Child and Adult Care Food            12.0        1.7 
      Agriculture        Program                                              
                      4  Conservation Reserve Program          9.0        0.5 
                      5  Conservation Security Program         1.0        0.5 
                         (previously Farm Security and                        
                         Rural Investment)                                    
                      6  Direct and Counter-Cyclical          37.0        0.4 
                         Payments                                             
                      7  Federal Crop Insurance               63.0        2.7 
                         Corporation Program Fund                             
                      8  Food Stamp Program                1,794.0        6.0 
                      9  Loan Deficiency Payments             18.0        0.5 
                      10 Marketing Assistance Loan           458.0        7.5 
                         Program                                              
                      11 Milk Income Loss Contract             8.0        2.2 
                         Program                                              
                      12 Miscellaneous Disaster Programs      25.0        6.8 
                      13 National School Lunch Program     1,402.0       16.3 
                      14 Noninsured Assistance Program         8.0       13.1 
                      15 Rental Assistance Program            26.0        3.1 
                      16 School Breakfast Programs           520.0       24.9 
                      17 Wildland Fire Suppression            13.0        1.0 
                         Management                                           
                      18 Special Supplemental Nutrition       25.0        0.7 
                         Program for Women, Infants, and                      
                         Children                                             
3  Department of      All programs and activities         0.0^a      0.0^a 
      Commerce                                                                
4  Department of   19 Civilian Pay                         74.6        0.3 
      Defense                                                                 
                         Commercial Pay                      0.0^a      0.0^a 
                      20 Military Health Benefits            156.0        2.0 
                      21 Military Pay                        370.0        0.5 
                      22 Military Retirement Fund             48.7        0.1 
                      23 Travel Pay                           43.6        1.0 
5  Department of   24 Federal Student Aid--Federal          2.0      0.0^b 
      Education          Family Education Loan                                
                      25 Federal Student Aid--Pell           433.0        3.5 
                         Grants                                               
                      26 Title I                              87.6        0.7 
6  Department of   27 Payment programs                     19.7        0.1 
      Energy                                                                  
7  Environmental   28 Clean Water State Revolving           1.6        0.1 
      Protection         Funds                                                
      Agency                                                                  
                      29 Drinking Water State Revolving      0.0^c      0.0^c 
                         Funds                                                
8  Export-Import      All programs and activities         0.0^d      0.0^d 
      Bank of the                                                             
      United States                                                           
9  Federal         30 Universal Service Fund--High        620.0       16.5 
      Communications     Cost Support Program                                 
      Commission                                                              
                      31 Universal Service Fund--Low          75.5        9.5 
                         Income Program                                       
                      32 Universal Service Fund--Schools     210.0       12.9 
                         and Libraries                                        
10 General            All programs and activities         0.0^a      0.0^a 
      Services                                                                
      Administration                                                          
11 Department of      Child Care and Development Fund     0.0^e      0.0^e 
      Health and                                                              
      Human Services                                                          
                      33 Foster Care                          51.6        3.3 
                      34 Head Start                           88.0        1.3 
                      35 Medicaid                         12,900.0       18.5 
                         Medicare Advantage                  0.0^e      0.0^e 
                      36 Medicare Fee-for-service         10,800.0        3.9 
                         Medicare Prescription Drug          0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Benefit                                              
                         State Children's Health             0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Insurance Program                                    
                         Temporary Assistance for Needy      0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Families                                             
12 Department of   37 Customs and Border                    9.0        0.1 
      Homeland           Protection--Custodial--Refund &                      
      Security           Drawback and Continued Dumping                       
                         & Subsidy Offset Act & Payments                      
                         to Wool Manufacturers                                
                         Federal Emergency Management        0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Agency--Assistance to                                
                         Firefighters Grants                                  
                         Federal Emergency Management        0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Agency--Homeland Security Grant                      
                         Program                                              
                      38 Federal Emergency Management         88.0        9.5 
                         Agency--Individuals and                              
                         Households Program                                   
                         Federal Emergency Management        0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Agency--Infrastructure                               
                         Protection Program                                   
                         Federal Emergency Management        0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Agency--National Flood                               
                         Insurance Program                                    
                         Federal Emergency Management        0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Agency--Public Assistance                            
                         Programs                                             
                      39 Federal Emergency Management         42.0        2.4 
                         Agency--Vendor payments                              
                         Immigration and Customs             0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Enforcement--Detention and                           
                         Removal Operations                                   
                      40 Immigration and Customs               4.8        0.7 
                         Enforcement--Federal Protective                      
                         Service                                              
                         Immigration and Customs             0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Enforcement--Investigations                          
                         Transportation Security             0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Administration--Aviation                             
                         Security--Payroll                                    
                      41 United States Coast                 0.0^b      0.0^b 
                         Guard--Contract Payments                             
                         United States Coast                 0.0^e      0.0^e 
                         Guard--Military Payroll                              
13 Department of      Community Development Block         0.0^a      0.0^a 
      Housing and        Grant (Entitlement Grants,                           
      Urban              States/Small Cities)                                 
      Development                                                             
                      42 Low Income Public Housing           322.9        1.2 
                      43 Section 8--Project Based            410.8        1.5 
                      44 Section 8--Tenant Based             785.4        2.9 
14 Department of      All programs and activities         0.0^a      0.0^a 
      the Interior                                                            
15 Department of      All programs and activities         0.0^a      0.0^a 
      Justice                                                                 
16 Department of   45 Federal Employees' Compensation       2.6        0.1 
      Labor              Act                                                  
                      46 Unemployment Insurance            3,248.0       10.3 
                      47 Workforce Investment Act              2.9        0.1 
17 National           All programs and activities         0.0^a      0.0^a 
      Aeronautics and                                                         
      Space                                                                   
      Administration                                                          
18 National           Research and Education Grants       0.0^a      0.0^a 
      Science            and Cooperative Agreements                           
      Foundation                                                              
19 Nuclear            All programs and activities         0.0^a      0.0^a 
      Regulatory                                                              
      Commission                                                              
20 Office of       48 Federal Employees Group Life          0.8      0.0^b 
      Personnel          Insurance                                            
      Management                                                              
                      49 Federal Employees Health            168.7        0.5 
                         Benefits Program                                     
                      50 Retirement Program (Civil           253.5        0.4 
                         Service Retirement System and                        
                         Federal Employees Retirement                         
                         System)                                              
21 Pension Benefit    All programs and activities         0.0^a      0.0^a 
      Guaranty                                                                
      Corporation                                                             
22 Railroad        51 Railroad Unemployment Insurance       2.9        2.6 
      Retirement         Benefits                                             
      Board                                                                   
                      52 Retirement and Survivors            133.3        1.4 
                         Benefits                                             
23 Securities and  53 Disgorgements and Penalties         0.0^f      0.0^f 
      Exchange                                                                
      Commission                                                              
                      54 Operational Vendor Payments         0.0^b      0.0^b 
24 Small Business  55 504 Certified Development           0.0^f      0.0^f 
      Administration     Companies (Debentures)                               
                      56 504 Certified Development           0.0^f      0.0^f 
                         Companies (Guaranties)                               
                      57 7(a) Business Loan Program            2.6        0.4 
                         (Guaranty Purchases)                                 
                      58 7(a) Business Loan Program          0.0^f      0.0^f 
                         (Guaranty Approvals)                                 
                      59 Disaster Assistance                   4.5        0.6 
                      60 Small Business Investment             4.0        0.2 
                         Companies                                            
25 Social Security 61 Old Age and Survivors'            2,504.0        0.4 
      Administration     Insurance                                            
                      62 Disability Insurance                0.0^c      0.0^c 
                      63 Supplemental Security Income      4,089.0       10.1 
                         Program                                              
26 Department of   64 Business Class Travel and             0.6        4.0 
      State              Sensitive Payments                                   
                      65 International Information              .9        4.0 
                         Program--U.S. Speaker and                            
                         Specialist Program                                   
                         International Narcotic and Law      0.0^a      0.0^a 
                         Enforcement Affairs--Narcotics                       
                         Program                                              
27 Tennessee       66 Payment programs                      6.6        0.1 
      Valley                                                                  
      Authority                                                               
28 Department of   67 Airport Improvement Program         0.0^f      0.0^f 
      Transportation                                                          
                      68 Federal Transit--Capital              0.6        1.1 
                         Investment Grants                                    
                      69 Federal Transit--Formula Grants       4.3        0.3 
                      70 Highway Planning and                 55.2        0.2 
                         Construction                                         
29 Department of   71 Earned Income Tax Credit         11,350.0       25.5 
      the Treasury                                                            
30 Department of   72 Compensation                        240.8        0.8 
      Veterans                                                                
      Affairs                                                                 
                      73 Dependency and Indemnity            0.0^c      0.0^c 
                         Compensation                                         
                      74 Education programs                  101.0        3.7 
                      75 Loan Guaranty                         4.7        0.5 
                      76 Non-VA Care Fee                      92.6        5.9 
                      77 Pensions                            303.9        8.6 
                      78 Vocational Rehabilitation             4.0        0.7 
                         Total                            54,744.8            

Source: GAO analysis of cited agencies' fiscal year 2007 PARs or annual
reports.

^aAgency reported that it had no programs or activities susceptible to
significant improper payments or agency did not report estimate for this
program.

^bAgency error rate was less than 1 percent or error rate rounded to zero
for purposes of this report.

^cAgency combined this program with the program listed above.

^dAgency did not address improper payments or IPIA in its fiscal year 2007
PAR or annual report.

^eAgency reported that it would estimate improper payments in the future
for this program.

^fAgency reported that the annual improper payment amount or error rate
was zero.

(195130)

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