Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Beta This is a new resource - your feedback will help us improve it.

Incorrectly Billed Visit Units That Trigger Outlier Payments on Home Health Claims

Announced on  | Last Modified on  | Project Number: OAS-26-05-001

OBJECTIVE

Medicare requires providers to bill claims accurately to be paid correctly and promptly by Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs). During previous home health agency compliance work, we observed claims where providers incorrectly billed single-discipline visit units (greater than 8 hours) that resulted in overpayments equal to the outlier payment. MACs pay outlier payments on home health claims for enrollees who incur unusually large costs that are determined by the visit units billed on the claim. Nationwide home health claims data for the most recent 30-month period shows that the average duration of a home health visit is 45 minutes. Our audit will cover Medicare outlier payments for home health visits for single disciplines that were billed in excess of 4 hours. Our objective is to determine whether selected home health claims with outlier payments complied with certain Medicare billing requirements.

TIMELINE

  • November 17, 2025
    Announced
  • Today
    Office of Audit Services In-Progress
  • Est FY2027
    Estimated Fiscal Year for Project Completion