CMS Announces Changes to the Stark Law to Ease MDs’ Participation in Value-Based Healthcare

Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Nov. 20 announced changes to the federal physician self-referral law, in a move intended to alleviate what CMS officials consider to be obstacles to physicians’ participation in value-based healthcare payment and delivery systems.

The press release quoted CMS Administrator Seema Verma as stating that, "When we kicked off our Patients Over Paperwork initiative in 2017, we heard repeatedly from front-line providers that our outdated Stark regulations saddled them with costly administrative burden and hindered value-based payment arrangements. That sound you hear is the mingled cheers and exclamations of relief from doctors and other health care professionals across the county as we lift the weight of our punishing bureaucracy from their backs."