Category: U.S. Government — GAO — Reports & Decisions

U.S. Government — GAO — Reports & Decisions

Medicare Part D: Payments and Contracts Between Pharmacies and Plan Sponsors That Are Vertically Integrated

Published 3 min read

What GAO Found The insurance plan sponsors that provide Medicare Part D drug coverage have increasingly become vertically integrated—that is, under common ownership—with pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies. GAO found that, for four large Part D plan sponsors, the pharmacies they owned accounted for about 24 percent of the Part D drugs they provided to…

U.S. Government — GAO — Reports & Decisions

Concrete Masonry Promotion Program: Commerce Could Enhance Its Oversight Controls

Published 4 min read

What GAO Found The Concrete Masonry Checkoff (CMC) program is a federally authorized, industry-funded program that supports research, education, and promotion projects intended to strengthen the concrete masonry industry and expand markets for its products. The term checkoff refers to the way similar programs are funded—that is, through assessments. The CMC Board administers the program,…

U.S. Government — GAO — Reports & Decisions

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness: Staff Placed on Administrative Leave Have Returned and Await Direction

Published 4 min read

What GAO Found The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is an independent establishment in the executive branch that coordinates the federal response to homelessness. It consists of representatives from designated federal agencies (the Council) and a staff that has ranged from 10 to 18 full-time employees over the past decade. USICH’s enabling legislation—the McKinney-Vento…

U.S. Government — GAO — Reports & Decisions

Innovation in Action: Getting You Up to Speed on Manufacturing

Published 2 min read

This Scroll-Driven Narrative tells the story of how the federal government is trying to strengthen U.S. manufacturing through Manufacturing USA—a national network of institutes that are partnerships between federal agencies, companies, universities, and others. It is a companion to a series of reports GAO has issued examining the Manufacturing USA program—for example, Advanced Manufacturing: Aligning…

U.S. Government — GAO — Reports & Decisions

Tobacco Products: FDA Should Monitor Timeliness of Application Reviews

Published 4 min read

What GAO Found In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded its authority to oversee all tobacco products, including millions of e-cigarettes that were already on the market. In response, it received a surge of applications from manufacturers in 2020 for products seeking authorization to remain on the market legally. Specifically, it received over…

U.S. Government — GAO — Reports & Decisions

Public Health Preparedness: Action Needed to Address National and Biosecurity Risks Associated with Disposal of Federal Laboratory Equipment

Published 5 min read

What GAO Found The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sold 1,316 pieces of unneeded laboratory equipment in fiscal years 2022 through 2025. Of that 1,316, GAO identified nine pieces of equipment–freeze dryers and mass spectrometers–that were on the Commerce Control List and sold to individuals and…