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Home Health & Hospice Week

Compliance:

Don't Forget Patient, Non-Doc Gifts In Your Compliance Efforts

Published on Tue Oct 20, 2009

Use the anti-kickback statute to guide you. When it's time to spread holiday cheer, many providers like to include patients or other nonphysician referral sources in their gift-giving. But you'd better be careful, or you could end up on the OIG's naughty list. When it comes to giving gifts to patients and non-physician referral sources, providers should consult the federal anti-kickback statute, attorneys advise. Under that criminal law, there is an exception for gifts that are $10 per item, totaling $50 per year, notes attorney Rick Rifenbark with Foley & Lardner in Los Angeles. The amounts in the anti-kickback statute are probably lower than the Stark limits because patients are seen as more likely to be influenced by lower-dollar items, Rifenbark says. Now's Not The Time For A Game Of Compliance Chicken If home care providers decide to furnish gifts of more than $10 to patients or other non-physician referral [...]
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