GOVERNMENTOIG warns doctors to scrutinize business arrangementsThe inspector general suggests questions physicians should ask to avoid fraudulent practices.By Tanya Albert, amednews staff. May 12, 2003. The government is worried that illegal joint ventures are growing rapidly in the medical community, and it is urging physicians to take the time to make sure their arrangements are on the up-and-up. The Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General in late April released a special advisory bulletin outlining several questions physicians should ask themselves about joint ventures to spot agreements that could violate the anti-kickback statute and land a physician or other health professional in prison.
"The Office of Inspector General has become aware of a proliferation of arrangements between those in a position to refer business, such as physicians, and those providing items or services for which Medicare or Medicaid pays," the OIG said in its special advisory bulletin. The office says warning bells should go off if a physician encounters arrangements in which:
Health lawyer John T. Brennan Jr. said these arrangements were already illegal. "Physicians have always had to worry about financial arrangements they've had with hospitals," said Brennan, a lawyer with Crowell & Moring in Washington, D.C., who specializes in fraud and abuse cases. "But the OIG is saying it's going to take a little closer look at these relationships, and the advisory bulletin is a warning system." Violating the anti-kickback statute is a felony, and physicians or others who break the law face a maximum of a $25,000 fine and five years in prison. The OIG can also exclude physicians from Medicare and other federal health care programs, and can impose civil penalties of up to $50,000. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:WeblinkOffice of Inspector General Special Advisory Bulletin on contractual joint ventures, April, in pdf (oig.hhs.gov/fraud/docs/alertsandbulletins/042303sabjointventures.pdf) Copyright 2003 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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