Wiki Treating nursing home owner's family for free

[CatchTheWind]

If a provider regularly visits a nursing home to treat patients, and the owner of the facility asks the provider to treat a family member who happens to be there (and, of course, the provider would be uncomfortable billing them since this nursing home provides him with so much business), would this be a violation of the anti-kickback laws - or is it just a simple courtesy?

 

[thomas7331]

Typically a violation of the statute involves physicians receiving payment in compensation for referrals of patients as the intent of the law is to ensure quality of care by preventing physicians from being influenced in care decisions. The physician in this case is giving the free service, and a nursing home is not a referring entity and so I don't think the law would apply in this situation. Even if it did, if it is an isolated instance, I can't imagine that a provision of a service of such relatively small value as this would ever rise to the level of a being a serious compliance or legal issue.