Changes to Phase III Stark regulations arrive to give guidance

Phase III Stark regulations have arrived without the explosive changes some feared, but they still contain important regulatory modifications that compliance professionals should focus on.

The changes affect statutory prohibitions against self-referrals by physicians, commonly called the Stark Law, and were published in the September 5, 2007, Federal Register. They finalize the interim final Phase II regulations, published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2004.

To many people, the revisions seemed surprisingly limited. CMS had "panicked everyone" by suggesting that "a bunch of fairly earth-shaking Stark changes" might be coming, says Nora L. Liggett, JD, partner at the Health Care Group at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP, in Nashville.

The actual changes represent a mixed bag. Some will make compliance officers' lives a bit easier; others, more difficult. A few will do a little bit of both.