In July, the HEALTH LAW ATTORNEY BLOG reported on five U.S. Senators asking the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) to issue guidance on physician owned distributorships (“PODs”) (or, sometimes referred to as physician owned intermediaries (“POIs”)). The OIG and CMS have issued their responses. By way […]
Search Results for: PODs
Senators Request Investigation into the Legality of PODs
Five U.S. senators requested an investigation by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) into the legality of physician-owned distributorships (“PODs”). The legality of the PODs is being questioned under the federal Anti-kickback Statute and other fraud and abuse laws. Distributorships act as a link between medical device manufacturers and […]
OIG Scrutinizes Overlap Between Physician-Owned Hospitals and Physician-Owned Distributors
The government does not like Physician-Owned Hospitals (“POH”). The government also does not like Physician-Owned Distributors (“POD”). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) have taken several steps recently to crack down on what it views as abusive PODs and POHs. In a brand new memorandum report, […]
OIG Released Report on the Prevalence and Use of Spinal Fusion Devices Supplied by Physician-Owned Distributors
On Wednesday, October 23, 2013, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report detailing its findings from a study it completed on the prevalence and use of devices supplied by physician owned distributors (“PODs”). The report, issued in response to a congressional request, used data […]
HHS Office of Inspector General Issues Special Fraud Alert Regarding Physician Owned Distributorships
On March 26, 2013, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a Special Fraud Alert (“SFA”) regarding the potential for Physician-Owned Distributorships (“PODs”) to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”). While the OIG has provided guidance previously on the potential for physician-owned entities to […]
New Hampshire House Passes Sweeping Rules Regarding Physician Relationships with Medical Device Companies
On March 29, 2012, with veritably no debate and less fan-fare, the New Hampshire House of Representatives recommended for passage HB 1725. HB 1725 is broad-reaching, and would prohibit all medical practitioners from prescribing or referring any FDA class II or class III implantable device in cases where they would gain profit, directly or indirectly […]