Opening Statement for Member Briefing on the Administrations Coronavirus Response 
United States House of Representatives 
Committee on Oversight and Reform 
 
 
 
Christi A. Grimm 
Principal Deputy Inspector General  
Office of Inspector General  
Department of Health and Human Services 
May 26, 2020, 11 a.m. 
 
 
   
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  Opening Statement (as Prepared for Delivery): 
Christi A. Grimm 
Principal Deputy Inspector General  
Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services  
 
Good morning Chairwoman Maloney, Ranking Member Jordan, Chairman Connolly, and 
Ranking Member Hice, and other distinguished members of the Committee.   
My name is Christi Anne Grimm and I am the Principal Deputy Inspector General at the 
Department of Health and Human Services.  I am a career civil servant with over 21 years of 
experience in ensuring the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in HHS programs and 
operations.  On behalf of HHS-OIGs more than 1,600 dedicated professionals, I appreciate the 
opportunity to brief you about our oversight of the Departments COVID-19 programs and 
funding.   
The global COVID-19 pandemic creates unprecedented challenges for HHS and for the 
delivery of health care and human services to the American people.  Nearly 100,000 people have 
died, many thousands more are seriously ill, and the effects are being felt in every corner of the 
United States.  HHS is the lead agency responsible for the public health and medical services 
response.  We have a monumental responsibility, with life and death consequences.  
HHS is performing a vital role that covers areas such vaccine development, testing, and 
guidance for staying safe.  We are also deploying medical volunteers to the front lines of health 
care; working with State, local, and Tribal governments to plan for and respond to surges; and 
directing billions in Federal funds to bolster health care and human services for those most in 
need.   
In conducting oversight during this pandemic, we are drawing on our long history of 
overseeing the Departments emergency preparedness and response activities, including 
responses to hurricanes, other natural disasters, and prior infectious disease outbreaks such as 
H1N1 flu virus and Ebola virus.  
OIG uses expert staff and sophisticated technologies to carry out this work.  In addition to 
performing our oversight, we share our analytics and technical assistance with HHS officials to 
strengthen program integrity and management practices.  We coordinate our work with key 
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  partners, including the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee; Federal, State, local, and 
Tribal entities; and the Government Accountability Office. 
Later today, we will post to our website our strategy for oversight of HHSs COVID-19 
response and recovery.  Our strategy has four goals: (1) protect people, (2) protect funds, (3) 
protect infrastructure, and (4) promote effectivenessnow and into the future.  To date, we have 
14 COVID-19-related reviews posted to our public work plan, with dozens of additional topics in 
development.  We hope that this work will help inform decision makers, including the 
Department and Congress, as they respond to-19 and prepare for the future.  
Our first goal is protecting people.  HHS programs touch the lives of all Americans, and 
our strategy therefore starts with protecting people.  Our efforts here are wide-ranging and 
include health and safety reviews, combating fraud schemes, and issuing information and 
guidance to the public.  
In early April, we released our first report about the impact of the pandemic on health 
care, results of telephone interviews with hospitals from across the country for the period of 
March 23 through March 27.  We were prompted to conduct this survey because we had prior 
experience with a study of hospital preparedness following the Ebola outbreak.  We used the 
same random sample of 400 hospitals to collect information about challenges in responding to 
COVID-19, mitigation strategies hospitals were using to address challenges, and how the 
Government could best support hospitals responding to COVID-19.  The report provided quick 
and reliable data from the ground to HHS, its operating divisions responsible for oversight and 
support of hospitals, and to Congress.  It also shared practical strategies hospitals reported to us 
that other hospitals could use in their own responses, including tips about managing patient flow 
and bed capacity, and helping hospital staff access child care.   
This was the first of many ongoing and planned audits and evaluations focused on 
protecting people during the pandemic, including reviews of the Strategic National Stockpile and 
COVID-19 laboratory testing.  Additional focus areas will include nursing homes, child care 
facilities, and unaccompanied alien children.   
We know from experience that fraud schemes proliferate during emergencies, as greedy 
perpetrators exploit fear and confusion to steal.  It is despicable and it is happening during this 
pandemic.  Scammers are targeting scared Medicare beneficiaries with schemes designed to steal 
their Medicare numbers.  Scammers offer fake treatments and nonexistent vaccines to vulnerable 
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  seniors and others.  Most recently, scammers are offering bogus contact tracing, enticing people 
to click on a malicious link to find out whether they have been exposed to COVID-19.  OIG is 
responding aggressively with our law enforcement partners and bringing these wrongdoers to 
justice.   
Our second goal is to protect HHS funds.  OIG oversight of Departmental expenditures 
has never been more important.  As of mid-May 2020, HHS was appropriated $251 billion for 
COVID-19 response and recovery.  Further, Medicare and Medicaid are responding by 
implementing significant changes to coverage and other requirements in support of patients and 
the health care system.  These changes include implementing increased funding, such as the 
6.2-percent increase in the Federal match for Medicaid.   
Ensuring accurate payment is critical to our mission, and OIGs planned work will 
address contracts, grants, and other program payments.  This past Friday, we added a new audit 
to our public work plan that will determine whether the $50 billion general distribution from the 
provider relief fund was correctly calculated and distributed to eligible providers.   
We are also working to protect funds in collaboration with Inspector General community 
partners serving on the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.  The Committee is 
coordinating holistic oversight of Federal funds appropriated for the COVID-19 response across 
agencies, to deliver to the American public greater transparency and accountability for Federal 
dollars.   
Our third goal is related to cybersecurity.  We seek to protect the health information 
technology and data infrastructure that is critical to ensuring an effective response, including 
research.   
Our fourth goal is to promote the effectiveness of HHS programs.  Of particular interest 
is the impact of flexibilities offered to providers during the emergency.  HHS has waived 
coverage and payment rules to expedite access to testing and treatment.  We are interested in 
how the waivers affect patients, providers, and programs.  For example, we are planning work 
looking at the impact of expanded telehealth in Medicare.   
In conducting our audits, investigations, and evaluations, we are mindful of the critical 
work and safety of frontline providers and Department staff.  It is not surprising that in the 
crucible of an emergency response, people trying to save lives and livelihoods accept greater risk 
and sometimes make mistakes or realize unintended negative effects.  Through our reviews, we 
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  seek to understand what worked well and what did not, to promote the effectiveness and 
efficiency of Department programs.   
We are balancing the need for robust oversight with minimizing unnecessary burden on 
providers and program staff caring for communities.  As warranted, we are offering deadline 
extensions, delaying work where access to facilities is unsafe, and adjusting our methods to 
avoid intruding on care.  Recognizing that many Americans have lost loved ones, friends, 
neighbors, and colleagues to COVID-19, and that others are still bravely fighting the virus, the 
importance of our mission is clear.  We are dedicated to protecting millions of Americans and 
supporting the health care professionals working so hard to serve the public during these trying 
times.   
In conclusion, I want to thank the Committee for its longstanding and strong support for 
my offices independent work.  I also want to thank the Committee for its oversight work to 
ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and accountabilitya mission that is shared across all Offices 
of Inspector General.  I assure you that resources provided to us will be well-spent in service to 
the American public. 
I look forward to discussing our COVID-19-related work with you at this briefing and 
answering your questions. 
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