By: Dave Davidson
It’s probably fair to say that most healthcare providers are aware of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law (and if you’re not, please call me immediately!). Those two laws, along with the False Claims Act, are the sources of the huge fines and penalties that make the headlines for governmentally discovered “fraud.” However, there are a number of other regulatory provisions out there that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is regularly policing.
One of these laws, with its origins in the Social Security Act, is the prohibition against providers hiring individuals or entities who have been excluded from participation in governmental health care programs such as Medicare or Medicaid. Hiring an excluded person or company can expose a provider/employer to Civil Monetary Penalties, which can result in significant financial hardship to the provider. And although this may seem like a simple rule to follow, recent enforcement activity shows that it may be fairly easy for an excluded person to “fall through the cracks” and wind up as your employee.Continue reading