Summary: This testimony highlights three challenges that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) faces in meeting its mission. First, HHS needs to better define its mission, objectives, and measures of success and increase its accountability to taxpayers. The Government Performance and Results Act presents HHS with opportunities to bring discipline to management at all levels of the Department, define the kinds of information needed to implement and assess its programs, and identify ways to progress toward accomplishing its goals. However, meeting the law's requirements for strategic plans, performance measures, and reporting on program accomplishments will not be easy. Second, HHS needs to ensure that it has the information systems necessary to manage and evaluate its programs and to track its progress in meeting performance goals. Third, HHS must constantly combat fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. Medicare, for example, which accounts for more than half of HHS' total budget, is particularly vulnerable. HHS needs to be vigilant because its programs will likely continue to be targets to fraud and abuse and because waste and mismanagement can have serious consequences for both taxpayers and program beneficiaries.
