MPA Inspection and Oversight: Health Care Specialization

The online Master of Public Administration: Inspection and Oversight program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice offers highly specialized training in the growing field of inspection and oversight. Developed in close collaboration with the Association of Inspectors General, our program is unique in that it prepares public administration students for much-needed positions in organizations that investigate the performance of other organizations.

Federal, state, and local governments have long held a need for skilled Comptrollers, Inspectors General, and other inspection and oversight professionals. However, a growing number of companies in the private sector are facing similar regulatory demands. This includes a higher level of oversight to ensure compliance, transparency and integrity. The online MPA: Inspector General program was developed with these demands in mind.

Most public administration programs instruct students in technical and supervisory positions for public and nonprofit organizations. John Jay College’s online MPA: Inspector General program goes deeper. We examine the issues confronting organizations across both the public and private sectors such as compliance, misconduct and forensic accountancy.

Graduates of the program are equipped to take on employment opportunities in inspection and oversight, or to apply their knowledge to related functions, including:

Regulatory compliance
Risk management
Performance assessment
Field inspection
Investigative journalism

The online MPA: Inspection and Oversight program is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration.

Curriculum

The Online Master of Public Administration in Inspection and Oversight program is offering a new specialization in Health Care Delivery Inspection and Oversight. The specialization prepares students for careers in the assessment, monitoring, regulation, auditing and investigation of health care organizations and service providers.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services National Health Expenditure Projections 2012-2022,[1] U.S. health care costs exceeded $2.9 trillion in 2013, and are projected to be 19.9 percent of the GDP by 2022. Over 2011-2013, $14.9 billion was recovered in fraudulent claims. However, recent estimates that the full cost of health care fraud range as high as $272 billion annually.[2]

The Specialization enhances the MPA in Inspection and Oversight program with the following course of study:

Core Courses (21 Credits – 7 courses)

PAD 700 Public Administration

PAD 723 Assessments, Audits and Investigations in Human Resources

This course examines assessments, audits, and investigations from a human resources perspective, including the preparation of factual investigative reports on the outcomes of investigations into violations of policies and laws on workplace safety, EEO-employment discrimination, violence, harassment, retaliation, fraud, abuse, waste and other wrongdoing. You’ll study the prevalence and incidence of such problems, along with techniques for fact-finding, investigation, documentation and complaint assessment.

PAD 706 Bureaupathology

During this course, you’ll explore corruption, waste, favoritism, excessive secrecy, arbitrary and illegal exercises of power and other “pathologies” that may occur in bureaucracies. You’ll examine the organizational situations and social contexts that can lead to departures from the laws, rules and regulations that define the formal mission of an agency. You’ll also consider the remedial and preventative actions available to elected officials, organizational managers, line employees and clients, customers and citizens.

PAD 740 Public Sector Inspection and Oversight

This course surveys the role and function of inspection and oversight in the public and not-for-profit sectors. You’ll be introduced to the techniques of internal investigation, policy oversight and operational auditing. You’ll also examine fraud prevention and the auditor-agency relationship.

PAD 742 Public Sector Account and Auditing (Pre-requisite: PAD 740)

This course introduces the principles of accounting and the techniques of auditing for governmental and not-for-profit agencies. You’ll review Generally Accepted Auditing Principles (GAAP), summary financial statements, and financial audit guidelines, and you’ll address accounting reform and electronic auditing.
Prerequisite: PAD 740

PAD 758 Ethics Integrity and Accountability

This course explores the role of ethics in public service. You’ll learn to identify and analyze ethical issues through the use of case studies and critical incidents. You’ll also examine codes of ethics and other policies designed to guarantee that public officials and employees faithfully discharge their duties and fulfill their fiduciary obligations to the public.

PAD 771 MPA Capstone Seminar

This seminar requires students to apply the knowledge and skills they have gained during their MPA graduate study to a semester-long project chosen by the student in consultation with the faculty member directing the seminar.
Prerequisites: PAD 715, and either PAD 739 or PAD 758

Research Methods and Quantitative Skills (6 Credits – 2 courses)

PAD 715 Research Methods in Public Administration

PAD 767 Analytical Methods in Health Care Auditing and Investigation

Specialization (9 credits – 3 courses)

PAD 763 Public Health Policy and Administration

PAD 764 Health Services Fraud, Waste and Abuse

PAD 766 Inspection and Oversight of Health Care Delivery

Electives (6 credits – 2 courses)

Two graduate courses selected by the student taken at John Jay College or transferred from other colleges and universities.

Requirements

Admission Requirements

Admission to the online Master of Science in Emergency Management program is competitive, and evaluation is based on the student's academic and professional records of achievements. Although students are not required to have an undergraduate degree or prior coursework in emergency management, preference will be given to those with relevant experience.

To be considered for admission, students must meet the following requirements:

A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S. or an international equivalent
An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher ( or meet contingency requirements as determined by the program on a case-by-case basis)
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or IELTS, is required for international applicants who have not studied in English-speaking countries. John Jay College's TOEFL code number is 2115-99. The minimum acceptable TOEFL score is 550 for the paper-based test, 213 for the computer-based test, and 79-80 for the the internet-based test. The minimum score for IELTS is 7
Submission of a complete application

Meet the Faculty

Faculty Name

Warren (Ned) Benton

Professor and Chairperson, Department of Public Management
Director, Online Master of Public Administration: Inspector General Program

Education

AB, Grinnell College
EdM, PhD, University of Illinois

Faculty Name

Daniel Feldman

Associate Professor, Department of Public Management

Education

BA, Columbia College
PhD, Harvard Law School

Faculty Name

Robin Kempf

The former Inspector General for the Kansas Health Policy Authority

Education

J.D., Ph.D

Faculty Name

Philip Zisman

Executive Director of the Association of Inspectors General

Education

J.D

Career Options

Agencies: The specialized program would seek to serve Federal, state and local agencies that audit, investigate and evaluate health care delivery. Examples of agencies include:

Office of Inspector General, Federal Department of Health and Human Services, 1,500 employees;
The 49 Medicaid Fraud Control Unit which employed 1,911 persons in 2013;
The New York State Medicaid Inspector General, which employs 300 persons;
The NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation Office of the Inspector General

Professional Organizations: In addition to public agencies, there are professional organizations that serve professionals who are employed by health care organizations to for compliance assessment and auditing:

Association of Inspectors General – http://inspectorsgeneral.org
Health Care Compliance Association - https://www.hcca-info.org/
Association of Health Care Internal Auditors - http://www.ahia.org/
National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association - http://www.nhcaa.org/
National Association of Medicaid Fraud Units - http://www.namfcu.net/
Global Health Care Anti-Fraud Network - http://www.ghcan.org/

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