In issuing Advisory Opinion 14-03 (the “New Opinion”) in early April, OIG also took the highly unusual step of rescinding another advisory opinion issued in 2011, Opinion 11-18 (the “2011 Opinion”). Both opinions involve electronic health record (EHR) interfaces that facilitate physician referrals to outside providers and suppliers for ancillary services. As OIG continues to signal its increasing interest in policing EHR-related fraud, this action only serves to reinforce the idea that not only should providers using such systems should be vigilant in ensuring that their systems are compliant with established meaningful use requirements, they should also ensure that vendor relationships that involve EHR coordination comply with federal anti-kickback and Stark law rules as well.

The 2011 Opinion originally examined and found acceptable an arrangement whereby a provider of electronic practice management services (the “First Requestor”) offered a package of EHR software to clients for a discounted monthly subscription fee. The First Requestor charged a small per-transaction fee for the service of facilitating electronic referrals between health professionals and other physicians and ancillary service providers who were not “trading partners,” meaning that they had not enrolled in First Requestor’s service. The total amount of fees that the First Requestor could collect from a provider was capped at the amount of the discount on the overall package. Services provided included the transfer of relevant records, tracking communications between the providers, tracking orders by referring providers, and issuing patient referral reminders. The First Requestor provided trading partners with access to a database of information about providers offering certain services (i.e., labs, pharmacies, DME suppliers, and imaging services) that included both trading partners and non-trading partners.Continue Reading OIG Terminates Prior Opinion on EHR Exchange Fee Structure

An interim final rule addressing third-party premium payments to qualified health plans is under regulatory review at the Office of Management and Budget, according to an online posting on that agency’s website on March 4, 2014. Both providers and payors have anxiously watched for clarifications in this area following a series of conflicting statements from

In Advisory Opinion 13-09, the HHS-Office of Inspector General (OIG) determined that a company’s offer of equity to members of its subsidiary group purchasing organization (GPO), partially in exchange for certain commitments to purchase through the GPO, could constitute a violation of the federal anti-kickback statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a–7b(b) (the “AKS”). While Advisory Opinion 13-09 is significant for GPOs, it also resonates more broadly, as to the AKS’s discount safe harbor, as well as any instance where the acquisition of equity is connected to items or services reimbursable under a federal health care program.

Background

The opinion’s Requestor was a company providing financial and performance improvement technology-based products and services. The GPO at issue was wholly-owned by the Requestor, and contributed approximately 60 percent of the Requestor’s revenue. On behalf of its members, the largest of which were hospital systems and integrated delivery systems, the GPO negotiated discounts and other contractual terms with vendors. Continue Reading OIG Issues Unfavorable Opinion on Proposed Offer of Equity Interest to GPO Members