Important Court Rulings & Pending New Federal Law 

By R. Lewis Dark | From the Volume XXIX, No. 10 – July 18, 2022 Issue

IMPORTANT THINGS ARE HAPPENING WITH COURT DECISIONS AND PROPOSED FEDERAL LEGISLATION that will affect a substantial number of the nation’s clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups. In this issue of The Dark Report, you’ll be alerted to those developments we th…

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New Percentage-Based Commissions Ruling

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXIX, No. 10 – July 18, 2022 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: In denying a motion to dismiss certain charges against a clinical laboratory owner, a federal court in California has declared that the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) of 2018 applies to payments for marketing to physicians and other referral sources. This …

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Innovation Showcased at Executive War College

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXIX, No. 7 – May 16, 2022 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: This year’s Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management proved to be a high-energy event. A record 900 attendees showed up and responded enthusiastically to visions and predictions of a post-COVID-19 healthcare system that hungers for large volumes of…

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DOJ: EKRA Governs Lab Sales and Marketing Commissions

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXIX, No. 6 – April 25, 2022 Issue

BY FILING A MOTION IN A U.S. DISTRICT COURT RECENTLY, officials from the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) took steps to oppose an earlier ruling by a federal judge in Hawaii dealing with the way the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA) governs how percentage-based commission…

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Judge Vacates Provision in No Surprises Act

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXIX, No. 5 – April 4, 2022 Issue

  CEO SUMMARY: It …

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Federal Healthcare Fraud Enforcement Turns to Emerging Areas

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXIX, No. 5 – April 4, 2022 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: Healthcare compliance attorneys say the Department of Justice (DOJ) is turning its focus to fraudulent activity related to COVID-19 testing. But that’s not the only area attracting greater scrutiny by the DOJ. Fraud stemming from opioid treatment has snared clinical l…

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Labs Should Be Cautious about ‘Surprising’ EKRA Ruling

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXIX, No. 3 – February 22, 2022 Issue

CONFUSION ABOUT WHEN IT IS LEGAL UNDER TWO FEDERAL LAWS to pay commissions to sales reps based on volume and/or revenue has existed since the passage of the federal Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA). Now, a district court judge in Hawaii has surprisingly ruled that payments of perc…

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Federal Judges: Paying Commissions Violates AKS

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXVIII, No. 6 – May 3, 2021 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: Health Diagnostic Laboratory and its marketing partner, BlueWave Consultants, were back in the news recently after a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court denied a challenge from the former principals of those companies to an earlier court ruli…

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Revised Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute Rules Are Good News for Labs

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXVIII, No. 4 – March 22, 2021 Issue

This is an excerpt of a 1,385-word article in the March 22, 2021 issue of  THE DARK REPORT (TDR). The full article is available to members of The Dark Intelligence Group. CEO SUMMARY: The Dark Report explains how changes to the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute will benefit labs,�…

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Revised Stark and AKS Rules Are Good News for Labs

By Robert Michel | From the Volume XXVIII, No. 4 – March 22, 2021 Issue

CEO SUMMARY: It must be rewarding for federal rulemakers at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the Inspector General to hear that attorneys representing clinical labs and pathology groups consider the new final rules for the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickb…

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