It has been four years since Congress enacted the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (“EKRA”), codified at 18 U.S.C. § 220. EKRA initially targeted patient brokering and kickback schemes within the addiction treatment and recovery spaces. However, since EKRA was expansively drafted to also apply to clinical laboratories (it applies to improper referrals for any “service”, regardless of the payor), public as well as private insurance plans and even self-pay patients fall within the reach of the statute.
On July 8, 2019, Anthony Camillo, owner of Allegiance Medical Laboratory and AMS Medical Laboratory, was sentenced to 30 months in prison by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Missouri. He was ordered to pay $3.4 million in restitution for violations of the anti-kickback statute, associated conspiracy charges, and illegal kickbacks related to various health care fraud schemes to defraud federal health care benefit programs. Those operating in the clinical laboratory testing space or referring specimens to such laboratories should know that what happened in this case is ...
Blog Editors
Recent Updates
- DEA Issues Third Extension to Public Health Emergency Telemedicine Prescribing Flexibilities, Through 2025
- CMS Issuing First Risk Adjustment Data Validation Audit Notices for PY2018 Since the RADV Final Rule
- Just Released: Telemental Health Laws – Download Our Complimentary Survey and App
- HISAA: New Legislation Would Bring Cybersecurity Requirements for HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates
- Post-Hurricane Flexibilities Offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services