OIG issues memorandum report on Nationawide Program for Background Checks

In January, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report entitled Nationwide Program for National and State Background Checks for Long-Term-Care Employees – Results of Long—Term-Care Provider Administrator Survey. As you may recall, this nationwide program is a voluntary program identified in and funded by the Affordable Care Act provides grants to states to implement programs to conduct federal background checks on prospective long-term-care employees. According to the OIG, the purpose of the survey was to collect baseline data on current practices regarding conducting background checks on potential employees and the effects on the long-term-care workforce.

This report focused on the impact national background checks have on the availability and quality of long-term-care employees. To determine the impact, a sample of long-term-care administrators in states participating in this program were surveyed. According to the OIG, the survey results indicate that 81 percent of the administrators had a sufficient pool of applicants for job vacancies. Those administrators who had an insufficient pool of applicants “cited prospective employees’ preferences for working in health care settings other than long-term care, low pay, and lack of desire to work in a rural area.”

Based on the timeline for development of this report, it is important to note that administrators from 10 of the 17 states that are currently participating in this program were surveyed. It is possible that results will differ when more states are included in the survey.