[Source: Health Lawyers Weekly, Sept. 28, 2007]
A medical center’s proposal to compensate physicians for providing on-call coverage does not run afoul of the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) said in an Advisory Opinion posted September 27.
Faced with a shortage of physicians willing to provide ED on-call coverage, the medical center proposed an arrangement under which it would pay a per diem rate to physicians for each day spent on-call at the ED, except for one and one-half days that each physician must contribute free of charge to the rotation schedule monthly.
Here, OIG found the personal services safe harbor does not apply to the arrangement because the hospital’s payments to physicians are not “set in advance” as required under the safe harbor. Nevertheless, OIG concluded the arrangement “presents a low risk of fraud and abuse,” pointing to the fact that the payments are fair market value for actual services needed and provided, without regard to referrals.
OIG concluded that while the arrangement could potentially generate prohibited remuneration under the Anti-Kickback Statute, it would not impose administrative sanctions on the medical center.
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Advisory Opinion No. 07-10 (Dep’t of Health and Human Servs. Office of Inspector Gen. Aug. 28, 2007).
