From Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC, by Justin Brown, Krista Cooper, Ashley Gholston Fowler, Travis Lloyd:
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued Advisory Opinion No. 23-12 on January 3, approving a plan by a physician-owned hospital to redeem the ownership interests of physicians who retire at 67 over a two-year period. This opinion provides guidance on redemption of physicians’ ownership interests in syndicated facilities like physician-owned hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers.
- The requesting party, a limited liability partnership operating two hospitals, proposed a one-time offer to physician-owners turning 67 to redeem their units over two years to avoid a potential liquidity crunch. To accept, a physician-owner must agree to retire within six months of the first payment and certify they will not refer patients to the hospitals or other partners.
- The partnership would redeem the units in three equal increments over the two-year period at a fair market value price. Redeemed units are offered to existing and prospective physician-owners equally, without regard to the volume or value of referrals or other business generated.
- The OIG concluded that the arrangement posed a low risk under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, based on the fact that eligibility for the redemption offer is unrelated to the volume or value of referrals or other business generated, and the remuneration is unlikely to result in unfair competition by altering referral patterns.
- The advisory opinion highlights the importance of objectivity and consistency in structuring redemptions and offerings. Basing redemptions and offerings on objective criteria unrelated to the volume or value of referrals or other business generated and applying these criteria consistently to all physicians reduces the risk of non-compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute and federal physician self-referral law (Stark Law).