McDermott Introduces the Medicaid Physician Self-Referral Act of 2015

Statement

Today, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, introduced the Medicaid Physician Self-Referral Act of 2015, which will strengthen the integrity of the Medicaid program by clarifying how the Physician Self-Referral Law, also known as the "Stark Law," applies to claims for Medicaid designated health services.

"This bill resolves confusion regarding how the Physician Self-Referral Law applies to Medicaid," said Congressman McDermott. "Presently, the ability of law enforcement to penalize providers who engage in prohibited self-referrals has been subject to ambiguity when Medicaid is the payer. As a result, this important tool for combating waste, fraud and abuse has been underutilized in the Medicaid context. Congress has long intended the requirements of the Self-Referral Law to apply with force to Medicaid, and this bill makes it unambiguously clear that this is the case."

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