Home Health & Hospice Week

Do your physician contracts meet these requirements? Under the personal service arrangement exception in the Stark II law, a compensation arrangement between a home care provider and a referring physician must meet all of the following criteria: (i) the arrangement must be set out in writing, signed by the parties, and specify the services covered,

(ii) the arrangement must cover all of the services the physician will provide to the entity,

(iii) the aggregate services contracted must not exceed those that are reasonable and necessary for the legitimate business purposes of the arrangement,

(iv) the term of the arrangement must be at least one year,

(v) the compensation paid over the arrangement's term is set in advance, must not exceed fair market value, and does not take into account the volume or value of any referrals or other business generated between the parties,

(vi) the services performed must not violate any State or Federal law, and

(vii) the arrangement must meet such other requirements as the Secretary may impose by regulation as needed to protect against program or patient abuse.