Will Changes In Stark Law Speed Up Value-Based Reimbursement?

To increase the adoption of value-based reimbursement (VBR) models, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma announced extensive proposed changes to the federal Stark Law. What is the Stark Law? It is a series of federal laws that regulate the financial relationships between health care professionals and provider organizations, with the goal of prohibiting relationships that may influence clinical decisionmaking based on financial incentives.

The first piece of legislation was enacted in 1989, when reimbursement was primarily on a fee-for-service (FFS) basis. Since that time, while the legislation has grown in scope, it has . . .