Providers can expect to see increased scrutiny around billing of single-discipline visit units, as the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) added a new home health-related target to its work plan this month. 
 
Previous OIG efforts have uncovered situations in which a Medicare Administration Contractor (MAC) incorrectly paid outlier payments to some home health agencies. This may occur because the provider incorrectly billed visit units.  
 
In order to gauge whether home health claims complied with Medicare billing requirements, the OIG audit will look at single-discipline visit units that were billed for more than four hours.  
 
The average duration of home health visits is 45 minutes, according to the OIG. This figure is based on nationwide home health claims data from a recent 30-month period. 
 
The OIG expects to complete this work item in 2027.