Under the Anti-Kickback Statute, a company commits fraud when it offers doctors and other health care providers financial incentives to use the business’s products or services, for which payment may be made under Medicare, Medicaid or other federally-funded healthcare programs. The illegal kickbacks can be cash payments, but often include other items of monetary value, such as gifts, free or discounted supplies or services, and travel.
Another law, called the Stark Statute, regulates the financial relationship that a physician or other provider can have with companies that sell healthcare items or services. When doctors or other healthcare providers benefit financially from referring patients to a particular hospital or testing center, they are incentivized to send patients for medically unnecessary, sometimes dangerous treatments. It tries to prevent subjecting patients to unnecessary procedures, making it illegal for physicians to refer Medicaid or Medicare patients to any entity with which it has a financial relationship, such as ownership, investment interest or compensation arrangements.