Analyze the in Office Ancillary Services Exception to the Stark Act as Research Paper

Analyze the in Office Ancillary Services Exception to the Stark Act as it relates to block leases - Research Paper Example he medical practitioner is financially associated with the care services; and d) the medical practitioner implements referrals to a care provider for purposes of furnishing the DHS. Physicians and health practices depend on the in-office ancillary services and related medical practice exceptions to the Stark law to permit DHS referrals within the parameters of the practice. Of these, Washlick (2008) noted that the in-office ancillary services exception is most commonly applied because it enables physicians providing various services to: a) make referrals for select DHS within the confines of medical practice; b) inform those DHS to provide the necessary patient care; c) apply Medicare and Medicaid cover to defray the costs resulting from the services; and d) retain and channel the revenues collected from rendering the services within the practice for settling practice expenditure and physician remuneration. These exclusions are therefore of great value to the rendering of patient services and other internal activities. As Micklos and Sevell (2004) noted, the in-office ancillary services exception (IOASE) is arguably the most significant allowance given under the outlaw of self-referrals of select health services by medical practitioners. In the recent past, however, renewed attempts to revisit referral rules have threatened the effectiveness of physician practice. For instance, the federal budget for the 2014-2015 financial year contains a number of measures which are intended to enhance a greater level of proper remuneration for the proper rendering of health care under the Medicare platform. The budget is responsive to various recommendations by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and MedPac that self-referral of simpler services culminates in a higher volume of care when they are integrated with payments for the service fees (Clark, Johnstone, Lynch, & Cardenas, 2004). The Budget seeks to limit the IOASE by permitting only practitioners who meet given