Here are 10 notes from Becker's coverage of Stark Law since June 2022:
- CMS proposed new guidance for physician-owned hospital reimbursement in the 2024 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule on April 10. The proposed rule requires physician-owned hospitals to meet requirements for the whole hospital or rural provider exceptions to Stark Law.
- There are several key potential Stark Law violations employers need to eye when hiring physicians, according to JDSupra.
- Law firm Nexsen Pruet laid out seven key Stark Law definitions for group physician practices in a Feb. 15 article in JDSupra.
- CMS updated its voluntary self-referral disclosure laws Jan. 23.
- The $1.7 trillion 2023 omnibus bill adds an exception to the Stark Law that allows hospitals and entities to provide evidence-based programs to boost physician resilience and mental health.
- Understanding fair market value is critical for compliance under Stark Law and anti-kickback statutes, The National Law Review reported Oct. 20, 2022.
- Hospitals and health systems need to update their physician compensation plans after CMS' changes to the Stark Law.
- CMS considered changes to its Stark Law voluntary self-referral disclosure protocols in an effort to streamline the process.
- Weirton (W. Va.) Medical Center agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated physician self-referral laws. Stark Law prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for services referred by physicians that the hospital has a financial relationship with unless the relationship fits into the law's exceptions.
Fifteen Texas physicians were ordered to pay a total of $2.83 million to resolve False Claim Act allegations involving kickbacks for ordering lab tests. The payments will resolve allegations that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law.