Medical Malpractice

How does stark law affect spouses of medical physicians?

I was told that it would be illegal, due to stark law, for a physician to invest in pharmaceuticals or medical tech companies. Would it then also be illegal for their spouse? How serious is it? I'm not familiar with the law, but lets say my husband prescribes a certain kind of pacemaker and I'd like to invest in it. What would be the charges against me? I'm not married yet, but wow, I wish I knew this before I said yes to the proposal lol.... really, I was kidding about the proposal :) Thanks for the helpful link!

Public Comments

1. "The Stark statute applies only to physicians who refer Medicare and Medicaid patients for specific services ("designated health services," or DHS) to entities with which they (or an immediate family member) have a "financial relationship." http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20031100/27thes.html Immediate family member includes spouse. (If you're serious that you would not have agreed to marry a physician if you'd known it might limit your investment opportunities, do the guy a favor and break off the engagement!)