On July 12, 2018, CMS included within the CY 2019 Physician Fee Schedule (the “Proposed Rule”) two revisions to Stark Law regulations aimed at further clarifying any actual or perceived differences between current regulations and the recently enacted Bipartisan Budget
Stark liberalization
Budget Act codifies Stark liberalizations
As we previously reported, on February 9, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives approved the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (the “Act”) and President Trump subsequently signed the bill into law. Section 50404 of the Act includes several…
Deregulatory wave prompts renewed examination of Stark Law application
In another sign that the Trump administration’s penchant for regulatory flexibility may apply to the federal fraud-and-abuse regulatory regimes, CMS administrator Seema Verma announced during an AHA Town Hall webcast on January 17 that CMS is convening an interagency group…
Judge doubles down on finding of materiality in FCA case
Federal courts continue to grapple with applying the “materiality” standard that is needed to cause a Stark Law violation or other underlying compliance matter to trigger False Claims Act liability. Although we have recently begun to gain a clearer view…
Federal district court endorses Stark liberalization of writing requirement
On March 15, a federal district court in the Western District of Pennsylvania endorsed CMS commentary from November 2015 that dramatically liberalized the “written agreement” requirement of core Stark exceptions, thus providing some new insights as to what may be…