Medicare Program; Modernizing and Clarifying the Physician Self-Referral Regulations

This final rule addresses any undue regulatory impact and burden of the physician self-referral law. This final rule is being issued in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Patients over Paperwork initiative and the Department of Health and Human Services' (the Department or HHS) Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care. This final rule establishes exceptions to the physician self-referral law for certain value-based compensation arrangements between or among physicians, providers, and suppliers. It also establishes a new exception for certain arrangements under which a physician receives limited remuneration for items or services actually provided by the physician; establishes a new exception for donations of cybersecurity technology and related services; and amends the existing exception for electronic health records (EHR) items and services. This final rule also provides critically necessary guidance for physicians and health care providers and suppliers whose financial relationships are governed by the physician self-referral statute and regulations.