The Digestive Health Physicians Association (DHPA) applauds the proposal in President Trump’s FY 2019 Budget to establish new protections in the physician self-referral law (Stark Law) for health care services furnished through Alternative Payment Models (APMs). DHPA worked closely with Members in both chambers to develop bipartisan legislation that would do precisely what is called for in the President’s Budget.
Modernizing the Stark Law
The Digestive Health Physician Association supports the bipartisan Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2019 (H.R 2282, S. 966), which promotes care coordination and will enable physicians to participate more fully in the value-based payment models incentivized by the bipartisan Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).
The legislation has the full support of 27 physician organizations representing more than 500,000 physicians who care for millions of Medicare patients.
The Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act would modernize the outdated “Stark” self-referral law that poses barriers to care coordination. Congress recognized the Stark Law hinders care coordination when it authorized the Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to waive the self-referral and anti-kickback prohibitions for Accountable Care Organizations. MACRA’s full potential can only be achieved by modernizing this law for physician-led alternative payment models (APMs) as well.
The bill will provide CMS with the regulatory authority to create exceptions under the Stark Law for APMs and to remove barriers in the current law to the development and operation of such arrangements.
Modernizing the Stark Law Will Improve Care for Medicare Patients and Lower Costs
Published in The American Journal of Managed Care As a physician, my primary concern is ensuring my patients get the best care possible, which often requires coordinating with other specialists. Every day I work with doctors in my practice—and in other practices—to give my patients access to a diverse team of experts that works together […]
Modernization of Stark Law promotes value-based care
Pulished in Healio The bipartisan legislation, “The Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2017,” was recently introduced by the Senate to modernize the Stark Law and eliminate the barriers it poses to care coordination. Read More >>
Where’s the money?
Published in POLITICO Stark Law bill: Sens. Rob Portman and Michael Bennet introduced a bill Wednesday to adapt Medicare’s anti-kickback laws. The regulations are intended to crack down on physician conflicts of interest in making referrals and purchasing services, but critics believe the laws need reform in a value-based payment era. Portman and Bennet’s bill, […]
DHPA Supports New Legislation to Improve Care Coordination Under Federal Physician Self-Referral Law
The Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act would remove barriers to physician practice participation in APMs. Specifically, it would provide CMS the same authority to waive restrictions in the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute for physicians seeking to develop and operate APMs as was provided to Accountable Care Organizations in the Affordable Care Act. It would allow physician practices to incentivize practitioners to provide high quality care while alternative payment models are under development and in operation.