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New Criminal Penalties Included in Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA)

First few Article Sentences

On October 24, 2018, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act) was signed into law. It is a broad piece of bipartisan legislation intended to address the national opioid crisis. One of the bills included in the SUPPORT Act is the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA).

EKRA creates criminal penalties for any individual who "solicits or receives any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate) directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, in return for referring a patient or patronage to a recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or laboratory" or "pays or offers any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate) directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce a referral of an individual to a recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or laboratory or in exchange for an individual using the services of that recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or laboratory." Notably, it extends its prohibitions to services covered by a health care benefit program, which includes both government and private payors.


Cooper, Esq., Richard S.

 

McDonald Hopkins LLC

Law, Kickback Issues

January 8, 2019

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