What is a financial relationship under Stark?

The Stark law defines financial relationships to generally include ownership/investment interests and compensation arrangements between a physician (or a member of the physician’s immediate family) and an entity that furnishes DHS.

What are exceptions under Stark?

For example, the following exceptions to the Stark Law require a written, signed agreement: office space and equipment rental, personal service arrangements, physician recruitment arrangements, group practice arrangements, and fair market value compensation arrangements.

What is DHS Stark?

The Stark Law prohibits a physician from making referrals for certain designated health services payable by Medicare (“DHS”) if the physician (or an immediate family member) has a financial relationship with the entity performing the DHS.

Which is not designated health services under Stark?

The Stark statute pertains only to physician referrals under Medicare and Medicaid (“physicians” includes chiropractors and dentists but not midlevel providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants); the anti-kickback statute is far broader and affects anyone engaging in business with a federal health …

What are the three groups of stark exceptions?

Many exceptions are related to all three – compensation, ownerships, and investment.

  • QUICK SUMMARY OF FEDERAL “STARK” SELF-REFERRAL & ANTI-KICKBACK LAW AND CALIFORNIA SELF-REFERRAL AND FEE-SPLITTING PROHIBITIONS.
  • ANTI-KICKBACK, FEE-SPLITTING & STARK.

What is the purpose of the Stark Law?

The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly referred to as the Stark law, prohibits physicians from referring patients to receive “designated health services” payable by Medicare or Medicaid from entities with which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship, unless an exception applies.

What are the elements of Stark laws?

The Stark Law prohibits (1) a physician from making referrals for certain designated health services (“DHS”) payable by Medicare to an entity with which he or she (or an immediate family member) has a financial relationship, unless an exception applies, and (2) the entity receiving the referral from submitting claims …

Why is the Stark Law so important?

The Stark Law matters because it tried to fight a very insidious erosion of the foundation of the trust between a doctor and patient. But the Stark Law also matters because patients and the American taxpayers wind up footing the bill for the bribery.

What are the elements of the Stark laws?

Who enforces Stark Law?

Government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), enforce these laws. The civil FCA, 31 United States Code (U.S.C.)

What is the difference between Stark 1 and Stark 2?

There are two components to the Stark statute. Stark I deals with clinical laboratory services, and Stark II, which came out in 1995, extended the reach of the prohibition to 11 categories of designated health care services.

Who does the Stark Law affect?

The law only applies to Medicare patients seeking designated health services. Penalties for violation are steep — as much as $15,000 per infraction — even when the violation is deemed unintentional.