Health care fraud and abuse enforcement activity is at an all-time high yet many physicians and other providers lack a basic understanding of the key healthcare fraud and abuse statutes that apply to them. Although each state may have its own fraud and abuse laws, any healthcare provider that receives federal funds should be familiar with three significant federal fraud and abuse statutes: the anti-antikickback statute, the federal false claims act and the physician self-referral law (also known as the Stark law).
Each of the statutes imposes a different set of prohibitions on healthcare providers and each carries separate but significant penalties for violation. For an introductory overview to each of these statutes, consider listening to the brief podcasts produced by physicianspractice.com at the following links:
http://www.physicianspractice.com/podcasts/content/article/1462168/2048688
http://www.physicianspractice.com/podcasts/content/article/1462168/2048678
http://www.physicianspractice.com/podcasts/content/article/1462168/2048188