HHS and CMS “Sprinting” to Reform the Stark Law to Advance Coordinated Care
Thursday, June 21, 2018

On June 20, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published an advance copy of a request for information seeking public input on reforms to the Physician Self-Referral Law (or “Stark Law”).

The request for information stems from on-going efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to accelerate the government’s transformation from a fee-for-service to a value-based system focused on care coordination.  Dubbed the “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care” (#RS2CC), HHS expressed an intent to first identify regulatory requirements that act as obstacles to coordinated care, and then issue guidance or revise regulations to address these obstacles and/or incentivize coordinated care.

In connection with this HHS initiative, CMS acknowledged and identified that certain aspects of the Stark Law may pose potential obstacles to coordinated care.  Through their request for information, CMS seeks additional information and input from the public to help achieve their goal of “reducing regulatory burden and dismantling barriers to value-based care transformation.”  In particular, CMS has asked the public to share their thoughts and experiences related to:

  • the structure of arrangements between DHS entities that are used to effectuate alternative payment models and novel financial arrangements;

  • potential revisions to current Stark Law exceptions and key defined terms that would serve to permit or encourage the implementation of alternative payment models; and

  • the creation of new Stark Law exceptions to permit or encourage the implementation of alternative payment models.

The request for information follows a number of other administrative actions and announcements focused on reforming the current regulatory environment, particularly with respect to physician arrangements and, more specifically, the Stark Law. In January, CMS Administrator Seema Verna announced a plan to form an interagency group focused on reviewing the regulatory barriers to alternative payment models created by the Stark Law.  In addition, the Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal, issued by the Office of Management and Budget in February, includes a proposal to reform the Stark Law to “better support and align with alternative payment models and to address overutilization.”  These more recent actions continue to build on concerns and suggestions identified in a white paper released by the Senate Finance Committee in 2016 titled “Why Stark? Why Now? Suggestions to Improve the Stark Law to Encourage Innovative Payment Models.”

This request is only the first formal step in the combined efforts of HHS and CMS to adopt what may be significant changes to the Stark Law.  However, the government appears to be poised to move quickly on regulatory reforms now that the ball is rolling, as evidenced by their branding of these efforts as a “sprint.”

The final copy of the request for information is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on June 25, 2018.

 

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