| Abstract: | This Federal Register notice sets forth the recently issued Compliance Program Guidance for Home Health Agencies developed by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in cooperation with, and with input from, several provider groups and industry representatives. Many home health care providers have expressed interest in better protecting their operations from fraud and abuse through the adoption of a voluntary compliance program. The OIG has previously developed and published compliance program guidances focused on the clinical laboratory and hospital industries (62 FR 9435, March 3, 1997 and 63 FR 8987, February 23, 1998, respectively). We believe that the development of this compliance program guidance for the home health industry will continue as a positive step towards promoting a higher level of ethical and lawful conduct throughout the entire health care community. |
