The Department of Justice (DOJ) just made an already ambiguous law even more difficult to navigate. Lawmakers originally touted the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) as a weapon to help combat the growing opioid crisis. In reality, we have seen the...
Lawmakers enacted the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) in 2018 to help address the use of illegal kickbacks to physicians who would refer patients to certain treatment centers. Unfortunately, because drafters wrote the law so broadly it likely extended...
The Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) generally prohibits the use of kickbacks and other forms of remuneration for referrals. The law applies to various medical practices, including labs. One of the biggest critiques to the law is the lack of transparency....
The feds are coming down hard on anyone that is taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic for their own personal gain. They have various tools to help build cases against those that it believes misappropriates funds or otherwise abuses the system, but is EKRA one of...
The federal government chose to ease enforcement of certain regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) was not one of them. This provision within the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery...
The law is constantly evolving. Arguably, this is a good thing. In many cases this evolution helps to better ensure the laws remain relevant. However, in some cases the changes may cause more problems than they fix. That is the issue diagnostic labs are currently...
There are various regulations that help better ensure patient safety when compounding medications. Although mostly beneficial, these regulations can prove challenging for pharmacies as well as diagnostic testing and reference labs. The government will conduct audits...
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to crackdown on its fight against illegal kickbacks. The feds are clear in their belief that what it considers bribes within the healthcare industry for medical services or equipment taint the ability to provide...
Congress enacted the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) in 2018 to address the potential for bribes, referred to as illegal kickbacks, between diagnostic labs, clinics and other clinical treatment facilities. Lawmakers enacted EKRA as part of the...
The fact that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecuted 3 EKRA cases in 2020 shows that the feds are serious about this law. As such, lab owners are wise to take steps to better ensure compliance. One important step: learning from past mistakes. This...
