Last month, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reaffirmed its longstanding position that an arrangement that “carves out” Federal health care program (FHCP) business is not dispositive with respect to whether such arrangement implicates the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). Specifically, OIG issued an unfavorable advisory opinion (AO 23-06), explaining that the Requestor’s proposed purchase of the technical component (TC) of anatomic pathology services payable by commercial health plans “could give rise to a significant incentive” for physicians being paid such TC by the Requestor to refer patients, including FHCP beneficiaries, to the Requestor.
