Healthcare providers interested in entering into marketing or management arrangements with companies must structure these arrangements in such a way that they don’t violate any federal or Florida healthcare laws. Providers should avoid entering into any marketing and management arrangements, which gives the impression that they offered, paid, or solicited cash, or any other type of remuneration in exchange for referring patients to that provider. Failure to do so may result in an Anti-Kickback violation if the arrangement does not fit squarely within an Ant-Kickback Statute Safe Harbor.
Safe harbors that might be available to a healthcare provider, depending on the terms of the marketing or management arrangement, include, but, are not limited to the (1) referral; (2) personal services and management contract; and (3) referral arrangements for specialty services.
Providers may want to consider establishing relationships with lead generation companies for advertising purposes, rather than referral arrangements with marketing companies because they typically face less scrutiny than the latter.
Any payments made to the marketing and management companies must be for fair market value for the services that will be provided. Payments to the management and marketing companies must not fluctuate based upon the expectation or referrals or business that will be paid in whole or in party by a federal healthcare program.Percentage-based arrangements are looked at unfavorably by regulators and face significant scrutiny. Therefore, it is always safer to agree to fixed-fee or flat-fee (non-variable) compensation for management and marketing services.
Many providers believe that if they are not paying the management company directly that they are safe from potential liability. That is simply not true. Especially if the marketing or management company is also the owner of a healthcare clinic that benefits from the arrangement. These types of relationships look highly suspect. Providers must not enter into any contract with a practice management company if that management company receives any financial incentives form the referring provider for increasing outside referrals for designated healthcare services.
This informational article provides a brief overview of factors to consider prior to entering into these types of arrangements. However, there are many additional factors to consider. At Jones Health Law we careful scrutinize all potential marketing and/or marketing arrangements that our clients are contemplating. We counsel our clients on structuring the arrangement in such a way that it fits within an Ant-Kickback Statute Safe Harbor or an exception to the Stark Law (i.e. “Fair market value compensation” or “indirect compensation arrangement”). Further, we analyze whether the proposed arrangement could potentially violate any additional Health Law, business law, or agency rules. Additionally, we will help you draft a marketing and management agreements that best suits your needs.