Physicians Failing To Disclose Supplier, POD Arrangements Fuel Kickback Concerns, Senators Say

21 Mar 2019

• By Sue Darcey

US Senate Finance Committee leaders say some physicians may have failed to disclose their physician-ownership interests in entities that offer medical supplies to the physician’s own practice, as required under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. The legislators on March 19 prodded the Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to take a closer look into these arrangements.

PiggyBank — Physicians' ownership arrangements with suppliers trigger kickback concerns, Senators warn CMS

US Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden want the Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to carefully scrutinize physician-owned distributorships’ (PODs) disclosures about financial arrangements to see if they trigger violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute.

A POD is an arrangement in which a physician purchases ownership shares in an entity that supplies medical products to...