The American Hospital Association has made various recommendations to ease the burdens of Stark Law compliance, including protection for value-based payment arrangements.

In an Aug. 3 letter to CMS, the AHA recommended a new exception for value-based reimbursement methods, as well as “modifications to the personal services and risk-sharing exceptions.”

The AHA said value-based payment arrangements covered by the new exception should aim toward at least one of the following: “Promoting accountability for the quality, cost and overall care for patients”; “managing care for patients across and among other providers”; and “encouraging investment in infrastructure and redesigned care processes for high-quality and efficient care delivery for patients.”

The association said the new exception should protect financial arrangements that include certain types of remuneration. It should also “establish the basic accountabilities for the use of financial incentives or in-kind assistance,” the AHA wrote.

In addition to protection for value-based care payment arrangements, the AHA called on CMS to revise the Stark Law advisory opinion process; define various elements of Stark Law physician compensation exceptions; and change the payment-by-physician exception, among other recommendations.

The letter from the AHA comes as CMS is soliciting public input on how to ease Stark Law burden.

Read the AHA’s full letter here.

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