HHS OIG: report health-program concerns.

What this office covers

The before-you-submit guide includes false Medicare or Medicaid claims and HHS grant or contract concerns, and lists separate channels for policy, coverage, appeals and privacy complaints.

Official source: HHS OIG before you submit ↗

Before disclosing information

The reporting page accepts only unclassified complaints online and supplies instructions for classified matters. The evidence guide asks for a narrative, a time frame and supporting material; use its official channel, not this page, for sensitive records.

Official source: HHS OIG report-fraud instructions ↗

What a report does and does not establish

HHS OIG cautions that not every report results in an investigation or individual response. Reporting does not itself obtain a refund, benefits or another personal remedy.

Official source: HHS OIG before you submit ↗

Build a checkable evidence trail

Start with the narrow question a reader could verify. Preserve an original record and distinguish what it shows from what you think it means. You do not need to supply a dramatic conclusion to make a discrepancy worth checking.

1. Name the program before the allegation: Medicare, Medicaid or another identifiable HHS-funded activity.
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2. Distinguish a service disputed by a beneficiary from a suspected false claim; the evidence and desired remedy differ.
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3. Identify the dates and source types needed without copying medical information, insurance numbers or billing records here.

For each reference, note the document title, publisher, date, reporting period and relevant passage. A screenshot without context may omit an amendment or cover a different time period. Mark missing information as unknown; do not replace it with zero, a guessed motive or an estimated loss.

Original hypothetical example / Not a real allegation

Observation versus conclusion

Imagine a fictional clinic advertisement claiming every visit includes a procedure that a public program does not cover in the advertised circumstances. An advertisement alone does not show that a false bill was submitted or paid. Separate the public claim, the applicable program rule, the service date and any legally obtained billing evidence. If the real problem is denial of coverage, investigate the appeal instructions independently rather than expecting an OIG tip to change the decision.

A separate task to preserve

A medical bill, an insurance appeal and a privacy breach are not interchangeable. Use the HHS routing guide for the actual problem; never upload medical records to America.co.

A useful research question remains open to an ordinary explanation. Record what new evidence would resolve it, including evidence that would show the concern was mistaken. This prevents a source trail from becoming a list of assumptions dressed up as facts.

Research the public record

Open HHS OIG public reports ↗ for published work. Search for the program, recipient or contract terms and check the report’s scope and publication date. A related report may help you formulate a question; it does not show that every similar organization has the same problem.

If you need existing records, consult the office’s current FOIA instructions or the official federal request guide. Describe the records, time period and likely custodian. A request for documents is different from asking an office to investigate or to give you an explanation. Records may be withheld or redacted under applicable rules; a request is not a guarantee of access.

Keep report recommendations, administrative decisions, allegations and adjudicated findings in separate columns. Likewise, money questioned, money potentially saved and money actually recovered are different quantities. For a deeper example of action-status tracking, explore the Federal Savings Evidence Desk.

Common questions