Why Summarize Anti-Kickback and Stark Law?

The latest copy of Headnotes, Dallas Bar Association’s monthly newspaper, arrived in my mailbox today and I was happy to see that it was focused on Health Law. Of course, no health law survey would be complete without an article trying to summarize Anti-Kickback and Stark Law.

The author, Kimberly Elting, did a fantastic job summarizing those and other connected issues. However, I think we shouldn’t summarize such terribly drafted law simply because it rewards poor drafting.

That is, any law that has an exception to the exception of the law’s main exception is poorly drafted and should be revised.

While I enjoyed the constant back-and-forth action in this year’s Fiesta Bowl, such back-and-forth is painful in reading law…and I’m a lawyer. I can only imagine how the physician wondering if he can open up a new facility feels.