AHA, FAH urge CMS to deny exception to physician self-referral prohibition

The AHA and Federation of American Hospitals today urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to deny Doctors Hospital at Renaissance an exception to the physician self-referral prohibition because the request “is inconsistent with Congress’s intent, does not serve a valid public policy purpose and would set a bad precedent.” The hospital groups also urged the agency to reverse the 2020 amendments to the “high Medicaid facility” exception, which “opens the door for requests that may technically meet, but clearly violate the spirit of the general statutory ban on physician-owned hospitals.”