Hospitals and providers participating in physician-owned distributorships, or “PODs” may be at increased risk for government investigation or enforcement. A Senate Finance Committee (SFC) Report issued this month highlights the SFC’s concerns that certain POD structures may violate fraud and abuse statutes, including the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, as well as the Sunshine Act.
According to the SFC Report, PODs are “physician-owned entities that derive revenue from selling, or arranging for the sale of, implantable devices ordered by their physician-owners for use in procedures the physician-owners perform on their own patients in hospitals or ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).” Continue…
—————————