Despite Stark Law enforcement seeming to have gone relatively quiet, according to a recent article by The National Law Review  (NLR), the strict liability statute’s six-year lookback period is ticking, and renewed compliance scrutiny is expected before those periods expire. With significant penalties at stake, the NLR article recommends that providers take advantage of the lull to reduce risk and review their compliance practices regarding physician arrangements and designate

In our work with health systems, we sometimes consider an FMV range for compensation that can be used as part of a retention strategy for a high-value employed physician. These situations usually involve a “flight-risk” physician whose employment is essential for a critical service line, and whom the employer is typically highly motivated to retain. From time to time , during related negotiations, such a physician requests compensation above the regional market’s 90th percent

The Department of Justice (DOJ) news page features several noteworthy settlements related to individual physicians involved in alleged medical laboratory kickback schemes. Enforcement action is likely to continue in the medical lab industry, which is upward of $250.9 billion in size and still growing. [1] Physicians who are key to this growth may not realize the extent of their exposure to prosecution in arrangements that seem like win-wins. However, common threads throughou

Major events of 2024 delivered heavy helpings of dispute, debate, and contention. Alongside the clashes in politics and culture,...

In September 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced  that Siouxland Surgery Center LLP, doing business as Dunes Surgical...

In February 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) joined a second whistleblower complaint against a former executive at...

A Delaware-based health system has agreed to pay more than $47 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging violations of the...

In December 2023, an Indianapolis-based health system agreed to pay  $345 million to settle allegations of False Claims Act and Stark Law...

Management Services Organizations, or MSOs, provide administrative services to medical practices. These services may include human...

In November 2023, Prema Thekkek, her management company, Paksn Inc. (“Paksn”), and 6 SNFs that are owned by Thekkek or managed by Paksn...

In October 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued Advisory Opinion No....

Four home healthcare settlements related to improper payments to physicians have been announced by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). ...

Medical director arrangements at skilled nursing facilities (“SNF(s)”) have been under federal scrutiny for the past few years (2021 blog...

In August 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Watermark Retirement Communities, LLC (“Watermark”), based in Tucson,...

In April 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Sibley Memorial Hospital (“SMH”) and its parent company, Johns Hopkins...