Office of Inspector General Updates Work Plan

WASHINGTON—The Office of Inspector General (OIG) updated its work plan with two new durable medical equipment, prosthetics/orthotics and supplies-related reviews, the American Association for Homecare wrote in a recent e-newsletter to members. The OIG is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is an independent office that reviews the department for fraud, waste and abuse. The OIG work plan will include a list of reviews, evaluations and audits the OIG is approved to conduct.

In the Oct. 2024 update, the OIG added the following reviews to their work plan:

Wheelchair Repairs

The OIG will examine suppliers providing wheelchair repair services and will review “the duration of repairs, suppliers’ implementation of selected quality standards and accreditors’ identification of deficiencies related to wheelchair repairs.” As part of the evaluation, the OIG will examine documentation from suppliers and accreditation organizations and will interview Medicare beneficiaries, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and accreditation organizations.

Oxygen Medicare Payments

The review aims to determine if Medicare oxygen and oxygen equipment suppliers are appropriately being paid. The work plan notes the improper payment rate for oxygen is high and the suppliers providing the services were paid more than $674 million in the calendar year 2023. Suppliers selected to be part of the review will need to provide documentation records indicating the oxygen and oxygen equipment were reasonable and necessary.