On July 12, 2016, the US Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to “examine ways to improve and reform the Stark Law” as a follow up to releasing a white paper on June 30 titled Why Stark, Why Now? Suggestions to Improve the Stark Law to Encourage Innovative Payment Models. The white paper summarizes comments and recommendations gathered during a roundtable discussion held by the Senate Finance Committee and the US House Committee on Ways and Means in December 2015 as well as written comments submitted by roundtable participants and other stakeholders on topics taken up by the roundtable in the weeks following the meeting.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Senator Orrin Hatch commented in a press release that “[t]he health care industry has changed significantly since Stark was first implemented, and while the original goals of the Stark law were appropriate, today it is presenting a real burden for hospitals and doctors trying to find new ways to provide high quality care while reducing costs as they work to implement recent health care reforms. . . [The] paper reflects critical feedback from the stakeholder community on the law’s ambiguities, its unintended consequences and the need for reform, and I am hopeful it jumpstarts the discussion on how Congress can modernize the law to make it work for patients, providers and taxpayers.”
Congress’ attention to Stark Law reform would address the significant False Claims Act exposure Stark Law violations can pose, which has been a very active topic for relators and government investigations in recent years.
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