Appendix-A-Major-Recommendations--By-Agency DEPARTMENT-OF-HEALTH-AND-HUMAN-SERVICES NOTE: Treatment of Health Care and Welfare Reform Issues by the NPR Two primary concerns of the Department of Health and Human Services are the delivery of health and welfare services to individuals. Since the Administration has special, ongoing efforts dealing with these areas, they are not covered by the National Performance Review. HHS01 Promote Effective, Integrated Service Delivery for Customers by Increasing Collaborative Efforts These recommendations outline a number of steps needed to better integrate and deliver social services to communities and families. cbe cbe HHS02 Reengineer the HHS Process for Issuing Regulations HHS should improve the timeliness and quality of regulations issued and should involve stakeholders in the development of regulations. cbe cbe HHS03 Develop a National, Uniform Inspection System to Ensure a Safe Food Supply Responsibility for food safety should be consolidated into a single agency, and policies and inspection systems should be implemented on an objective, scientific basis. cbe cbe HHS04 Reconfigure Support for Health Professions Education Existing programs should be consolidated and/or eliminated. na na HHS05 Restructure the Management of Railroad Industry Benefit Programs Railroad Retirement Board functions should be integrated into existing programs administered by federal, state, and private sector service providers. cbe cbe HHS06 Improve Social Security Administration Disability Claims Processing to Better Serve People with Disabilities and Safeguard Trust Fund Assets SSA should apply resources and management tools needed to reduce backlogs and to avoid paying benefits to individuals who are no longer disabled. -4,010.0* 0.0 [As a footnote: *Savings will be realized in the Social Security Trust Funds and will not affect discretionary spending levels.] HHS07 Protect Social Security, Disability and Medicare Trust Fund Assets by Removing Barriers to Funding Productive Oversight Activities HHS should aggressively pursue options to assure that adequate investments are made to avoid unnecessary payments from trust funds. na na HHS08 Coordinate Collection and Dissemination of Social Security Administration Death Information to Protect Federal Program Assets SSA's clearinghouse for death information and "best practices" can be used by dozens of federal and state agencies to reduce federal program outlays. cbe cbe HHS09 Take More Aggressive Actions to Collect Outstanding Debts Owed to the Social Security Trust Fund SSA should be given the authority to use a full range of debt collection tools available under the Debt Collection Act of 1982 to collect debts owed by individuals who are no longer on benefit rolls. -335.0* 0.0 [As a footnote: *Savings will be realized in the Social Security Trust Funds and will not affect discretionary spending levels.] HHS10 Institute and Collect User Fees on FDA's Inspection and Approval Processes Food, drug and medical device manufacturers, processors and suppliers should be required to pay for FDA services. -1,439.8 0.0 HHS11 Redesign SSA Service Delivery and Make Better Use of Technology to Provide Improved Access and Services to Customers SSA's organizational structure needs to be updated to reflect changing customer needs and to take full advantage of emerging technologies. na na HHS12 Strengthen Departmentwide Management The department should conduct a review of its organizational structure and management systems to determine an appropriate balance between centralized and decentralized functions. na na HHS13 Review the Field and Regional Office Structure of the HHS and Develop a Plan for Shifting Resources to Match Workload Demands The review should emphasize customer service, results and increased accountability. cbe cbe HHS14 Amend the Health Care Financing Administration's Contracting Authority to Allow for Competitive Contracting HCFA should be authorized to fully and openly compete Medicare claims processing contracts to reduce costs and eliminate inefficiencies and conflicts of interest. -985.0 0.0