The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) on Nov. 20 released rules finalizing changes to the Physician Self-Referral ("Stark") Law and Anti-Kickback Statute regulations governing physician referrals. These changes are in response to ongoing requests from the ACC and others urging allowance for value-based payment arrangements as part of the Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care, as well as clarity to ensure that "complexity does not stand in the way of meaningful change."

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had previously indicated that these rules would be finalized in 2021 due to their complexity; however, the Administration has included modernization of Stark/anti-kickback rules as one of its top priorities. The final rules provide new safe harbor protections for clinicians/providers engaged in value-based care arrangements.

The ACC commented on both of these rules at the end of 2019. ACC Advocacy staff are in the process of a deep-dive review to provide an update to members on how the final rules align with the College's requests. The College has long prioritized support for a widespread transition to modern, value-based care models, incentivizing collaboration between hospitals, providers and physicians to deliver high-quality and patient-centered care. Learn more at ACC.org/APM.

Keywords: Physician Self-Referral, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S., Medicare, Medicaid, ACC Advocacy

< Back to Listings