Re: stock and bill response

Joe Sansone

Description

Title:

Re: stock and bill response

Creator:

Joe Sansone

Date:

1/21/2003

Text:

In response to your question on the legality of Stock and Bill programs
I offer absolutely no legal advice only an opinion. Medicare has
frowned on Stock & Bill programs (also referred to as loan closets) for
quite some time. The OIG however, released an opinion in April of 2002
setting forth the parameters for such programs. Excerpts from several
sources can be seen below. Feel free to contact me for further
information. (Not BOC or ABC and can still spell!)


1. According to healthcare attorney Jeff Baird of Brown & Fortunato
in
Amarillo, Texas, providers can safely set up a loan closet if they
follow three guiding principles:
        1. They don't pay the referral source rent for the loan
closet
                space.
        2. Referral sources cannot make money off a loan closet
arrangement......
        3. The DME informs the doctor in writing or verbally that
                patient choice must be maintained.

If you adhere to these three things, you are going to be OK, Baird
said.

Moran, Mike. OIG Gives Advice on Loan Closets. HME News.


2. A number of suppliers that provide health care items or
services rent
space in the offices of physicians or other practitioners.

The OIG is concerned that in such arrangements, the rental
payments may be disguised kickbacks to the physician-landlords to
induce referrals.

Arrangements for office equipment or personal services of physicians'
office staff can also be structured to comply with the equipment rental
safe harbor and personal services and management contracts safe
harbor.


Department of Health and Human Services. Publication of OIG Special
Fraud Alert on Rental of Space in Physician Offices by Persons or
Entities to Which Physicians Refer. Federal Register 65.37 (2000):
9275+

3. Based on the facts certified in your request for an advisory
opinion and supplemental submissions, we conclude that
the Proposed Arrangement would not generate prohibited
remuneration under the anti-kickback statute and, therefore,
the Proposed Arrangement would not constitute grounds for
the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to impose administrative
sanctions ...


Thornton, D. McCarty. OIG Advisory Opinion NO. 02-4. Letter to
author. 19 April 2002.

Joe Sansone
C.E.O
Tmc Orthopedic
www.tmcortho.com

-----Original Message-----
From: John Walker [mailto:<Email Address Redacted>]
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 10:51 PM
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: [OANDP-L] stock and bill

Has anyone recieved a legal opinion on a company that never sees the
patient
and bills under medicare for a product and service. Also is it a
nationwide
problem wit reps fitting patients and doing the billing or just
regional. Any
help please!!!!!!

John

                          

Citation

Joe Sansone, “Re: stock and bill response,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/220509.