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Abstract
In a False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam opinion issued Jan 21, 2009, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals 11 in US ex rel. Kosenske v. Carlisle HMA Inc et al reversed and remanded a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a hospital that had an exclusive arrangement with an anesthesiology group practice for the provision of anesthesia and pain management services. In so doing, the court decided that the federal physician self-referral law (the "Stark law") was implicated and analyzed the requirements of the exception for personal service arrangements related to written agreements and fair market value. The court determined the existence of a "financial relationship" for purposes of the Stark law based on "benefits" that, until this point, have not been determined to be remuneration. As a result, Kosenske introduces new issues and questions not previously contemplated under the Stark law. Details of the case are discussed.