It’s that time of year again — as summer turns to autumn, the OIG typically publishes its Work Plan for the coming year, outlining all of the focus issues that the agency intends to spotlight going forward. What’s different about this autumn, however, is that the OIG doesn’t plan to release one.
Instead, the OIG notes on its website, it won’t issue the 2014 Work Plan until January. The change "will better align with priorities OIG has set for the coming year, a time of continuing fiscal challenges," the agency said in a statement.
What’s the Work Plan? The OIG’s Work Plan reveals the hot button issues that the agency plans to investigate over the course of the year. In the 2013 plan, the OIG listed more than 10 subjects related to home health agencies, including topics ranging from face-to-face physician encounter requirements to OASIS accuracy. The OIG listed two hospice-specific topics last year — "Marketing Practices and Financial Relationships with Nursing Facilities" and "General Inpatient Care."
