Processing of Claims Resulting From the Swine Flu Program
HRD-81-33: Published: Jan 14, 1981. Publicly Released: Feb 19, 1981.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
GAO reviewed the timeliness of the Department of Justice in processing swine flu claims and lawsuits and the adequacy of staffing and resources available to Justice to handle swine flu claims. GAO reviewed the general method for processing claims filed against the federal government, the specific method established to process claims resulting from the swine flu program, and the procedures established by Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It determined from the claim files the length of elapsed time to decide claims and compiled descriptive data on the claims, such as the status of claims and the number of claims filed according to the nature of the alleged injury. GAO obtained limited information on the processing of lawsuits resulting from the swine flu program and determined Justice's role in swine flu litigation and data gathering. GAO sampled 722 swine flu claims and statistically determined the average amount of time it took to process them.
GAO found that no criteria existed to objectively assess the timeliness of swine flu claims processing; however, some claims processing procedures were identified which took a long time. GAO was unable to determine the average time it took to process lawsuits and whether they were being handled in a timely manner. Almost 4000 claims and 1000 lawsuits have been filed against the government alleging injury, death, or other damage resulting from the 45 million swine flu immunizations given under the program. Neither Justice nor HSS maintained statistics on the status of swine flu claims and lawsuits or on the nature of injuries alleged by individuals. Justice performed all the necessary fact-finding and legal analyses pursuant to claims processing and made recommendations to HHS on the action to take on claims, while HHS retained authority for determining final action to be taken on claims. It took, on the average, about 403 calendar days from the date that a claim was received by HHS to the date Justice made a recommendation on the action to take on the claim. Factors which slowed processing time were the failure or tardiness of claimants to respond to Justice's requests for information, the lack of an adequate system to follow-up on requests for information, and the lack of adequate staffing arrangements for performing medical review. Justice's efforts to develop procedures to process the claims were reasonable. If a federal mass immunization program is repeated, sufficient staff and timeframes should be established for follow-up activities.
Feb 24, 2021
-
Covid-19:
Key Insights from GAO's Oversight of the Federal Public Health ResponseGAO-21-396T: Published: Feb 24, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 24, 2021.
Feb 17, 2021
Feb 11, 2021
-
Operation Warp Speed:
Accelerated COVID-19 Vaccine Development Status and Efforts to Address Manufacturing ChallengesGAO-21-319: Published: Feb 11, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 11, 2021.
Feb 5, 2021
-
DOD Health Care:
DOD Should Monitor Implementation of Its Clinical Practice GuidelinesGAO-21-237: Published: Feb 5, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2021. -
Medicaid:
CMS Needs to Implement Risk-Based Oversight of Puerto Rico's Procurement ProcessGAO-21-229: Published: Feb 5, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2021. -
VA Health Care:
Community Living Centers Were Commonly Cited for Infection Control Deficiencies Prior to the COVID-19 PandemicGAO-21-195R: Published: Jan 6, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2021.
Jan 28, 2021
-
COVID-19:
Critical Vaccine Distribution, Supply Chain, Program Integrity, and Other Challenges Require Focused Federal AttentionGAO-21-265: Published: Jan 28, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 28, 2021.
Jan 21, 2021
-
Rural Hospital Closures:
Affected Residents Had Reduced Access to Health Care ServicesGAO-21-93: Published: Dec 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 21, 2021. -
Health Care Funding:
Federal Obligations to and Funds Received by Certain Organizations Involved in Health-Related Services, 2016 through 2018GAO-21-188R: Published: Dec 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 21, 2021.
Jan 14, 2021
-
Medicaid:
Data Completeness and Accuracy Have Improved, Though Not All Standards Have Been MetGAO-21-196: Published: Jan 14, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2021.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here