Overall profits means the profits derived from all the designated health services of any component of the group that consists of at least five physicians, which may include all physicians in the group. If there are fewer than five physicians in the group, overall profits means the profits derived from all the designated health services of the group.
Overall profits derived from designated health services/ancillary services must be divided in a reasonable and verifiable manner that is not determined in any manner that is directly related to the volume or value of referrals of designated health services by the Physician. For purposes of the Stark Law, the share of overall profits will be deemed not to directly relate to the volume or value of referrals if one of the following conditions is met:
- The Group’s profits are divided per capita (for example, per Physician in the Group); or
- Overall profits are distributed based on the distribution of the Group’s revenues attributed to services that are not designated health services; or
- Revenues derived from designated health services constitute less than 5 percent of the group’s total revenues, and the portion of those revenues distributed to each physician in the group constitutes 5 percent or less of his or her total compensation from the group.
The Group can possibly switch between the first two methods over time, however the group must distribute to all physicians in a component using the same methodology. Profits derived from designated health services cannot be distributed based on the physician referring/ordering the designated health services or the number of referrals from any physician.