Having a quality and current team of professionals to help you navigate your healthcare business is increasingly essential. Gone are the days where one can, or should say, “I technically complied†or brag, “I am more sophisticated than the Government.†Gone are also the days where one can rationally say, “the worst that could happen is I pay a fine.†The staggering enhancement of enforcement tools and punishments – including steep monetary penalties, incarceration, and permanent exclusion from healthcare programs – at the disposal of law enforcement agencies makes the potential risk of legal action overwhelming. You need to be prepared, at a moment’s notice, to effectively demonstrate your efforts, sincerity of purpose and success of outcome to prevent even the appearance of impropriety—being perceived as non-compliant or, worse yet, lacking the desire to be compliant, can be disastrous.
Furthermore, with the recent broadening of intent-based statutes – whereby you can technically be compliant and have still committed a crime – the exponential increase in governmental enforcement efforts and the increasing use of cameras and whistleblowers in prosecutions, your compliance efforts must be strong, effective and clearly demonstrable.