What are kickbacks in healthcare?
What are kickbacks in healthcare?
It’s simple to define what kickbacks in health care are. If a physician or medical provider uses any payment or compensation to encourage a patient to come to their office, or to encourage another medical provider to refer patients to their office or facility, that is a kickback.
What is an example of the Anti Kickback Statute?
Basically, anything of value to a person in a position to refer, such as cheap office space, patients referrals, a free employee, or a fat bonus, can classify as an illegal inducement under the Anti-Kickback and Stark laws.
What is the intent of Anti Kickback Statute?
At its heart, it is an anti-corruption statute designed to protect federal health care program beneficiaries from the influence of money on referral decisions and thus is intended to guard against overutilization, increased costs, and poor quality services.
Why are kickbacks unethical in healthcare?
Federal laws prohibit kickbacks and improper compensation to doctors and other healthcare providers as specified by the Stark Law because those financial incentives often result in medically unnecessary treatment and the use of more expensive products.
Who is liable under anti-kickback statute?
[1] Both a party offering a kickback and the intended recipient can be held criminally liable under the Anti-Kickback Statute.
What is Medicare abuse?
Abuse describes practices that may directly or indirectly result in unnecessary costs to the Medicare Program. Abuse includes any practice that does not provide patients with medically necessary services or meet professionally recognized standards of care.
What are the penalties for kickbacks?
The Federal Anti-Kickback Statute is a criminal statute and the penalties for violations of the law can be severe. They include fines of up to $25,000 per violation, felony conviction punishable by imprisonment up to five years, or both, as well as possible exclusion from participation in Federal Healthcare Programs.
How do you find a kickback scheme?
Detection of Bribery and Kickback Schemes Compare prices paid for goods and services to market rates. Analyze purchase levels by vendor. Analyze inventory overstocks and shortages. Identify continued purchases of inferior-quality goods.
