Kickback Vs. Stark Law–What is the difference?
Despite their fundamental similarity of purpose, the anti-kickback statute and the Stark law have significant differences. The anti-kickback statute is a criminal statute that prohibits any knowing or willful solicitation or acceptance of any type of compensation to increase referrals for health services that are reimbursable by the Federal government. Example: a provider may not routinely wave a patient’s co-payment or deductible because the government would see this as a way to sway patients to choose the provider for reasons other than medical benefit. Because the anti-kickback statute is a criminal statute, violations of it are considered felonies, with criminal penalties of up to $25,000 in fines and five years in prison. In contrast, the Stark law is a civil statute. The Stark Law essentially states that a physician may not refer a patient to an entity with which the physician has an ownership interest or compensation arrangement and the payment for the medical services are made
