Anti-Kickback, Fraud, Stark, and Marketing - Where are the Landmines?

Course Description:

This webinar will provide an in-depth understanding of the Federal False Claims Act, Federal Anti-Kickback and Stark laws, and discuss how marketing activities can trigger either or both. It will also provide the basic building blocks you will need to develop and maintain your company’s precious commodity – your reputation – and eliminate exposure to fraud charges based on marketing practices. It will also cover the practical requirements and operations, principles of compliance and the basic elements that every business has to have to reduce civil and criminal liabilities and economic sanctions.

The AKS is alive, still with us and as viable as ever. The Statute provides that the offer or payment, as well as the solicitation or receipt, of “any remuneration” in exchange for referrals of any good, facility, service, or item for which payment may be made in whole or in part under Medicare/Medicaid is prohibited.

Recent cases and/or enforcement actions involving Anti‑Kickback Statute , violation of which has been held to be the basis of an action under the Federal False Claims Act, (“FCA”) raise serious concerns regarding compliance issues with hospital, physician practices and other healthcare entities. Recoveries under the FCA are at an all-time high, and the percentage of actions involving healthcare organizations has been increasing at exponential rates. The same goes for Stark, the federal anti-referral legislation.

Recent cases and/or enforcement actions involving the False Claims Act raise serious concerns regarding compliance issues with hospital, physician practices and other healthcare entities. Recoveries under the FCA are at an all-time high, and the percentage of actions involving healthcare organizations has been increasing at exponential rates.

Why Should You Attend?

This webinar will provide the basic building blocks you will need to develop and maintain your company’s precious commodity – your reputation – and eliminate exposure to fraud charges based on marketing practices. It will also cover the practical requirements and operations, principles of compliance and the basic elements that every business has to have to reduce civil and criminal liabilities and economic sanctions.

On completing this webinar, you will have an understanding of anti-kickback regulations, Stark laws, and compliance issues that shore up company weaknesses in marketing. You will know how to implement mandatory internal controls to reduce exposure to risks. The course includes a case study discussion of how a company's marketing efforts exposed an organization to many vulnerabilities.

This session will benefit all functional groups who have data protection responsibility, marketing responsibilities, or need to understand the basics of compliance.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Federal False Claims Act

• Federal Anti-Kickback Statute

• Federal Anti-Referral Law (Stark I & 2)

• Introduction to basic compliance as an effective tool.

Who Will Benefit:

• Hospital executives, particularly CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CNOs, and CMOs,

• Physicians,

• Physician practice managers, and

• Other healthcare provider executives.

Instructor Profile:

William Mack Copeland, MS, JD, PhD, LFACHE, practices health care law in Harrison, Ohio at the firm of Copeland Law, LLC, where he is president and CEO. He is also president of Executive & Managerial Development Group, a consulting entity providing compliance and other fraud and abuse related services, on the board of QualityMD, and general counsel for the USAF MSC Association. A graduate of Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Bill is a frequent author and speaker on health law topics. Copeland is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, American, Ohio and Cincinnati Bar Associations and is a life fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. A former hospital CEO, he was awarded the American College of Health Care Executives Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Regent’s Award in 2007.