For over a little more than a decade hospitals have been purchasing physician practices and then employing those physicians within their own medical groups. The rise of these practices has resulted in significant consolidation among markets. Further, this practice has resulted in a possible hidden danger for many health systems under the Stark Law. From [...]
Under Indiana law, physician assistants are healthcare professionals that work with and alongside physicians and nurse practitioners. Physician assistants are unique in that they have a dependent license and scope of practice on that of a physician. Nurse practitioners on the other hand, have an independent license and scope of practice. As a part of [...]
On March 25, 2019 the Department of Justice released a statement that it would be filing a complaint under the False Claims Act against a West Virginia hospital, a management company, and the CEO. The allegations evolve around improper financial arrangements with employed and independent physicians. Presumably, these improper arrangements implicate the Stark Law as [...]
Recently the Department of Justice disclosed a settlement between MedStar Health and its affiliated hospitals (“MedStar”) regarding allegations of kickbacks to a cardiology group. The arrangements ultimately resulted in MedStar settling for $35 million. However, the unique aspects of this investigation should have hospitals and health systems on notice. First, the case evolves around allegations [...]