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Avoid Holiday Gift-Giving Landmines With These 7 Steps

Published on Tue Oct 20, 2009

You can't ignore the rest of the year. The holidays can present one of the biggest compliance hazards to home care providers, thanks to gift-giving for physician referral sources. Gift-giving "is an intersection where the very rigid nature of the Stark Law collides head-on with common American business practices," warns attorney Robert Ramsey III with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney in Pittsburgh. "Holiday gifts are, of course, something many non-healthcare businesses have given to their business acquaintances for years," Ramsey tells Eli. "However, in the health care arena, such gifts can run afoul of the law depending on the circumstances." Look To Stark Law For Guidance Home care providers should consult the Stark law when they are deciding on gifts for physician referral sources, says attorney Rick Rifenbark with Foley & Lardner in Los Angeles. That civil law limits gifts to physicians to an amount totaling $355 in 2009 -- the exact [...]
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