
“Lead, follow, or get out of the way,” goes the old admonition, attributed variously to Thomas Paine, Gen. George S. Patton and Chrysler’s Lee Iacocca. When it comes to innovative health payment mechanisms, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has chosen the third path by adopting what they dubbed the “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care,” beginning in 2018. The goal of this initiative is to remove or reduce regulatory obstacles that have frustrated the development and growth of alternatives to the traditional fee-for-service payment system, and to facilitate the transition toward value-based coordinated care models. Among the hurdles targeted for removal are elements of the Stark physician referral law (Stark), the Medicare and Medicaid Anti-Kickback statute (AKS) and the Civil Monetary Penalties Law (CMPL).