HHS OIG Work Plan — 2026 hospice items to watch
The HHS Office of Inspector General publishes a Work Plan identifying upcoming audits, evaluations, and inspections. Here are the hospice-relevant items for the current year and how to prepare.
Primary source
HHS OIG Work Plan
What the OIG Work Plan is
The HHS Office of Inspector General maintains a public Work Plan describing audits, evaluations, and inspections it has begun, is planning, or is currently conducting. The Work Plan is updated regularly and is the single best signal of where federal oversight is focused for the coming year.
Hospice-relevant items to watch
Recent OIG hospice work has focused on eligibility documentation for long-length-of-stay patients, GIP (General Inpatient) utilization, appropriateness of hospice election, and Medicare Advantage hospice carve-in operations. Providers should read the current Work Plan directly on OIG.hhs.gov and cross-reference their own patient-mix data.
How to prepare
For each Work Plan item that touches your provider profile, run an internal chart audit against the criteria the OIG has publicly described. Update your compliance operating rhythm to include a monthly review of Work Plan updates and a quarterly self-audit against active items.
Team checklist
- Read the current OIG Work Plan on oig.hhs.gov.
- Cross-reference your hospice’s patient mix and utilization against active Work Plan items.
- Run monthly internal chart audits against Work Plan focus areas.
- Include a quarterly Work Plan review in your compliance operating rhythm.
- Update your ADR/TPE response playbook if the OIG surfaces new hospice patterns.
Further reading
Never miss a hospice regulatory change.
Create a free Goodwin Hospice Academy account to save updates, get notified when new rules drop, and turn each update into a team-ready training packet.