George Breen Quoted in "Could Value-Based Care Raise False Claims Act Liability?"

A primary consideration is arrangements that include shared savings through coordinated care, said George B. Breen, a Washington-based health law attorney. For example, he said that the Stark Law could be implicated if a physician within a shared savings model receives a bonus payment for referring patients to specific providers. The Stark Law prohibits a physician from referring Medicare patients for designated health services to an entity with which the physician has a financial relationship.

“While there are a number of exceptions and safe harbors which would validate any such relationship, it’s something that needs to be thought through” from the start, Mr. Breen said in an interview. “You have to look at each factual circumstance separately because each is fact and circumstance dependent.”