What every physician should know about Stark law
Becker's Healthcare January 18, 2024
Many physicians have experienced challenges stemming from Stark law, which bans them from making referrals for Medicare-payable health services if the physician or immediate family member has a financial relationship with the entity.
Here are 10 key considerations to know:
1. Congress added an Anti-Kickback Statute to the Social Security Act in 1972 to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud, according to a Jan. 16 blog post from The HIPAA Journal. The law prohibits anyone from “knowingly and willfully receiving or paying anything of value to influence the referral of federal healthcare program business.”
2. The Medicare-payable health services include lab services, physical, occupational and speech therapy, durable medical equipment, prosthetics, radiology, home health, pharmaceuticals and inpatient and outpatient services....