Indemnity or Self-Disclosure? Here Are The Best Ways to Deal With Policy Compliance Issues

In the healthcare industry, some of the biggest policy compliance issues and violations can go unnoticed for too long — until it’s too late.

Just ask Timothy J. Fry, today’s guest on The Professor’s Corner. As someone who worked in the healthcare policy world for five years, including nearly two years as a staffer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Timothy has seen just about every mistake in the business. 

As a current Partner at McGuireWoods, that experience gives him a unique perspective on healthcare regulatory compliance. 

So when it comes to some of the most common mistakes like Stark Law violations or billing and coding issues, is the smartest strategy to self-disclose to the government, or to settle with indemnity? The answer isn’t as simple as you might think.

Tim joins us on this episode of The Professor’s Corner to talk about the most common mistakes he sees in healthcare policy compliance, the potential consequences, and the smartest ways to resolve these issues.

Featured Guest

Name: Timothy J. Fry

What he does: As a Partner at McGuireWoods, Tim helps clients navigate compliance and regulatory issues in the healthcare industry. As a former staffer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, he has unique insight into healthcare policy from the perspective of policymakers.

Organization: McGuireWoods

Words of wisdom: “Today, it is very much a market position of many of these transactions, as they trade for self-disclosure to take place. And so as a buyer, if you don't cut it off at the time you do your transaction, it is very likely you're going to get pushed into it. And you have to bear that expense during that recap opportunity.” 

Connect: LinkedIn  

Notes From The Professor’s Corner

Top takeaways from this episode

★ Stark Law violations often go unnoticed. Also known as the physician self-referral law, it’s common for healthcare groups to make mistakes on revenue splits for referrals. Unfortunately, these mistakes are often not caught until a client begins working with counsel.

★ Indemnity is not always an option. That’s because the Stark Law has the potential to trigger the False Claims Act, which comes with exorbitant fines. To avoid triggering the False Claims Act and a potential whistleblower situation, the best thing healthcare companies can do is self-disclose to the government.

★ For billing and coding violations, go with indemnity. Unlike Stark Law violations, common billing and coding mistakes should be settled with indemnity or smaller repayments rather than full self-disclosure. These settlements often offer some flexibility based on the scale of the issue.

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