A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) document released May 6 highlights potential cost savings in Medicare and Medicaid based on findings drawn from a select subset of recent OIG reports.

“$17 billion dollars in potential cost savings could be generated if Congress takes action based on these HHS-OIG reports,” according to copy on the PDF, which is dated Spring 2025.

The timing of the document’s release comes as current negotiations in the House Energy and Commerce Committee pertaining to Budget Reconciliation require the committee to find $880 Billion in savings over ten years primarily via Medicaid and Medicare policy changes.

The actions recommended by the OIG reports include changes to Medicare Advantage Risk Adjustments, protections to limit current hospital billing procedures that result in inflated costs, and prevention of duplicative Medicaid enrollments.

Links to the document and the prior OIG reports can be accessed here.