Anti-Kickback Defense Attorney
The federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKBS) was established to prevent the intentional abuse of the healthcare system and its numerous programs in order to collect financial gain. In specific, it prohibits the exchange of anything with a measurable or perceived value for an award or referral within the federal healthcare program. The AKBS even goes as far to make paying for patient referrals a crime.
Healthcare professionals and physicians are often caught up in kickback schemes that violate Stark Laws without knowing it. Hospital groups and big pharmaceutical companies may attempt to convince a doctor to prescribe a certain medicine or send a patient to a certain location via bribes and favors. If this has happened to you and know you fear you could be accused of violating anti-kickback laws, you should retain the services of Law Offices of Art Kalantar and our healthcare license defense attorneys in Beverly Hills.
Professionals from all corners of the healthcare industry trust our team because:
- We have years of experience managing intricate, high-stake cases.
- We make ourselves available 24/7 for emergency consultations.
- We personalize each case we accept – no one is just a case number.
- Our background in consumer protection cases gives us unparalleled insight.
Being accused of accepting or offering kickbacks could constitute a criminal violation. There is no time to lose when freedoms are on the line. Call 310-773-0001 today and ask for a free initial consultation with our attorneys.
Consequences & Penalties of Kickbacks
Stark Laws might seem like an overly-sensitive issue from many perspectives since just about every professional industry involves paid referrals. However, you must take the laws as seriously as the federal agencies that enforce them. When the laws were first established, they were meant to prevent a variety of potential issues, and violating the laws by accepting or offering a kickback will raise a red flag against you.
It is believed that paid referrals or kickbacks in the healthcare industry could cause:
- Higher healthcare program costs for patients.
- Unnecessary medical procedures or treatments.
- Steering patients due to nepotism.
- Unbalanced competitive scale in the industry.
The potential consequences are open to some argument, but the penalties if convicted of violating Stark Laws and anti-kickback statutes are not. If you are formally accused and brought to charges, you have to work quickly to defend yourself with our help.
Penalties that could be associated with AKBS violations include:
- Years of imprisonment – usually minimum of five
- Multi-thousand dollar fine per kickback
- Removal from Medicare and Medicaid systems
- Revocation of professional licenses
Do not take a chance with your business, reputation, and freedoms after you are accused of either accepting kickbacks as a physician or offering them as a healthcare company. Call 310-773-0001 or contact our Beverly Hills healthcare lawyers at your first opportunity to start discussing your defense with a highly-experienced team that genuinely cares about your future.
