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Home Health & Hospice Week

Compliance:

It's The Season For Giving -- But Not Too Much

Published on Mon Oct 18, 2010

Keep OIG guidance in mind when deciding on your holiday gift list. Under the face-to-face requirement and other fraud and abuse scrutiny, referrals are down this year for many providers. But don't let that tempt you into furnishing lavish gifts to your referral sources this holiday season. "Gifts from health care providers to referral sources, patients, vendors, and colleagues can create  unintentional sticky situations," cautions attorney Patricia Hofstra with Duane Morris in Chicago. "Many businesses give gifts during the holiday season as a token of friendship and appreciation, but for health care providers, the situation is complicated bythe Stark laws and the anti-kickback fraud and abuse prohibitions." "Home health providers should look to avoid any gift giving that could be viewed as inducement to a referral source," advises attorney Kendra Conover with Hall Render in Indianapolis. "The federal government has repeatedly advised that home health agencies should not utilize prohibited [...]
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