In the fall of 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released its 2015 Work Plan, which highlighted HHS's compliance focus areas in the upcoming year.
As in past years, areas of focus cover a range of providers that are reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid and other federal programs, and feature compliance priori- ties ranging from hospital billing to Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug Program requirements to oversight of Affordable Care Act (ACA) initiatives.
As in past years, the Work Plan places a heavy emphasis on issues impacting long-term care providers, reinforcing the scrutiny regulators have directed toward an industry that has, in some cases, displayed high levels of fraud and abuse.
In light of the continued regulatory focus on long- term care and the emphasis on new areas of inquiry in the 2015 Work Plan, long-term care providers should be familiar with the Work Plan, and should review and up- date their compliance plans as necessary.
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