Medicare Advantage has increasingly been criticized for waste, fraud, and abuse. A key issue lies in how the government reimburses these private insurers.

DME suppliers must not only satisfy traditional Medicare FFS requirements, but they must also satisfy Medicare Advantage Plans (MAPs).

Unlike large hospital systems that can better absorb administrative overhead, independent providers operate on razor-thin margins.

The lesson for DME suppliers is that if they are going to provide services to a referral source, the referral source needs to pay FMV compensation to the suppliers.

There are many exceptions to Stark. If an arrangement meets an exception, Stark is not violated. The following are Stark exceptions applicable to DME suppliers.

DME suppliers are highly regulated and scrutinized. A goal of Federal laws is to protect taxpayer money from fraud.