False Claims Act Insights - Physician, Refer Thyself: How Stark Law and FCA Intersect
2022 Resolutions: What Healthcare Practices Need To Tackle In the New Year
Goran Musinovic on Healthcare Real Estate Compliance
Podcast: CMS and OIG Final Rules for Innovating Your Value-Based Payment Program - Diagnosing Health Care
Compliance Perspectives: Changes to the Physician Self-Referral and Anti-Kickback Rules
Anti Kickback and Stark Law Enforcement and Compliance Issues
Although often well-intentioned, offering free or discounted items or services to patients (e.g., gifts, rewards, writing off copays, free screening exams, free supplies, etc.) may violate federal and state laws governing...more
On August 1, 2023, CMS issued its annual Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) Final Rule for FY 2024 (the Final Rule). In the Final Rule, CMS,...more
The novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic has brought about unprecedented applications of certain federal healthcare laws and regulations, including the federal physician self-referral law (the “Stark Law”) and the federal...more
HCCA has assembled a half-day virtual conference to help compliance professionals stay on top of the fast-moving changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. By participating in this event, you will hear directly from the...more
As healthcare moves increasingly from fee-for-service model to one focused on outcomes and value-based payments, the traditional fraud and abuse laws, such as the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law, pose obstacles to...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General have provided additional guidance and clarification on the application of Stark Law blanket waivers...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has created the need for flexibility in physician arrangements during the public health emergency. In response to that need, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued Stark waivers,...more
Amidst the cavalcade of regulatory and policy changes from federal and state governments intended to help health care providers confront the COVID-19 pandemic, on April 21, 2020 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...more
On April 21, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued explanatory guidance on the scope and application of a series of nationwide Section 1135 waivers of the physician self-referral law (Stark Law)...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Blanket Waivers of certain requirements of the Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law). The purpose for the Blanket Waivers is to provide the flexibility providers...more
On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued certain blanket waivers of sanctions under the federal physician self-referral law (or “Stark Law”) for “COVID-19 Purposes” (the “Stark Blanket...more
As discussed in detail in a prior post, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II (the Secretary) issued blanket waivers of sanctions under the federal Physician Self-Referral Law (Section 1877 of the Act),...more
On April 21, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued additional guidance explaining the scope and application of the Stark Law blanket waivers to certain financial relationships. CMS issued the Stark...more
While health care providers continue to focus on the challenges of treating COVID-19 patients and complying with newly-issued state government "reopening" orders, now is the time to begin planning for a successful transition...more
On April 21, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released “Explanatory Guidance” related to the March 30, 2020 Blanket Waivers of Section 1877(g) of the Social Security Act (information about those...more
On March 30, 2020, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a "blanket waiver" impacting the physician self-referral law known as the Stark Law. The blanket waiver—which is retroactively...more
The Blanket Waivers that the Center of Medicare and Medicaid services issued under the Stark Law apply only to financial relationships and referrals that are related to the national emergency that is the COVID-19 outbreak in...more
The following is a list of categories of the Stark Law Blanket Waivers permitting deviations from the provisions of the Stark Law where necessary for a COVID-19 purpose. See Background on CMS Stark Law Waiver. The definition...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published at the end of March new blanket waivers under the federal physician self-referral law (commonly known as the Stark Law) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The waivers...more
Stark and the AKS - The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly referred to as “Stark,” prohibits physicians from referring Medicare and/or Medicaid patients to receive “designated health services” (DHS), including clinical...more
The US Department of Health and Human Services recently announced the use of blanket waivers for healthcare providers under the Stark Law, and its Office of Inspector General noted it will exercise enforcement discretion in...more
On March 30, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services issued blanket waivers of the Physician Self-Referral Law (“Stark Law”). As explained below, those waivers temporarily allow COVID-19 related payments and...more
As noted in our recent alert, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently issued “blanket waivers” concerning several Stark Law requirements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. CMS enacted the Stark Law...more
On March 30, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued blanket waivers on certain sanctions under the physician self-referral law, also known as the “Stark Law.”...more
Spilman's COVID-19 Task Force and Health Care Practice Group have developed this e-newsletter to address important issues affecting health care providers and others operating in the health care industry during the COVID-19...more