Medical Billers and Coders

  Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law) Basics The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly referred to as the Stark law, prohibits physicians from referring patients to receive Designated Health Services (DHS) payable by Medicare or Medicaid from entities with which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship unless an exception applies. Financial relationships include both ownership/investment interests and compensation arrangements. The term Stark Law refers to former U.S. Representative Pete Stark of California, who originally introduced the  physician  ethics bill in the late 1980s that would later evolve into this law. At that time, healthcare services were provided mostly on a fee-for-service basis, meaning that healthcare providers (HCPs) were paid a predetermined amount for each type of service performed, rather than the current value-based system that focuses more on patient outcomes.  The fee-for-service healthcare delivery system encouraged p

  Provider-Based Physician Services Providers may retain physicians on a full-time or part-time basis in, for example, the fields of pathology, psychiatry, anesthesiology, and radiology, and in many instances (especially in teaching hospitals) in other fields of medical specialization as well. Any one of these physicians may be engaged in a variety of activities including teaching, research, administration, supervision of professional or technical personnel, service on hospital committees, and other hospital-wide activities, as well as direct medical services to individual patients. The provider’s arrangement may be with a single physician or a group of physicians who assume joint responsibility for discharging agreed-upon duties. Provider-based physicians may include those on a salary, or a percentage arrangement, lessors of departments, etc. (whether or not they bill patients directly). The services to the patient are known as the professional component. The services to the provid