Calls to Support Stark Law Reforms Blocked by AMA Delegates
MedPage Today November 16, 2023
— “My future is in literal jeopardy,” one family physician resident says
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Private practice physicians argued unsuccessfully for the American Medical Association (AMA) to adopt a policy in support of reforming a blanket ban on physician self-referral during the interim meeting of the House of Delegates on Tuesday.
The Physician Self-Referral Law, also known as the Stark law, makes it illegal for a physician to refer Medicare or Medicaid patients to any entity in which that physician, or an immediate family member, has a financial stake, with certain exceptions.
In a policy statement, the Private Practice Physician Section (PPPS) characterized the law as a “blanket self-referral ban” and blamed its “unequal restrictions” on independent practices for...