To arrive at a truly value driven healthcare system, how physicians are compensated for their work is more critical than ever. Despite predictions of the demise of fee for servicer reimbursement, new approaches to physician payment for their services remain in play along side FFS payment. While how to construct meaningful incentives to behavior is the purview of others, for lawyers there are significant legal issues to confront in physician compensation within practices, by employers or in any of the newly emerging contexts (e.g., private equity investment). New Stark interpretations within group practices are a major challenge, but other issues need to be addressed as well. How to allocate dollars received in bundled payment, the varieties of pay for performance programs that have emerged, and even the shift in payment for evaluation and management codes must be taken into account. Finding evidence on what has worked and what is unclear is not very easy.
Recorded at the Health Law Institute in March 2022.