,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cggf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #af1 #bjac,mr4 ,boustany 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,kind1 ,mr4 ,bucshon1 and ,mr4 ,veasey7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to amend title ,,xviii of the ,social ,security ,act to create alternative sanctions for technical noncompliance with the ,stark rule under ,medicare1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,stark ,administrative ,simplification ,act4 #b4 ,alternative sanctions for technical noncompliance with ,stark rule under ,medicare ,section #ahgg7;g7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acienn7g77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking ,no and inserting ,subject to paragraph 7#g71 no2 7#b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by striking ,if and inserting ,subject to paragraph 7#g71 if2 7#c7 in paragraph 7#c71 by striking ,any and inserting ,subject to paragraph 7#g71 any2 and 7#d7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#g7 ,alternative sanctions for technical noncompliance 7,a7 ,single penalty for compensation arrangements in technical noncompliance ,in the case of a compensation arrangement between a physician 7or an immediate family member of such physician7 and a person or entity that is in violation of subsection 7a77#a7 solely due to technical noncompliance1 instead of the sanctions described in paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#c7 for any such violation1 the person or entity with respect to such arrangement shall be subject to a single civil monetary penalty under this paragraph in an amount that does not exceed-- 7i7 in the case where the disclosure of the violation is submitted to the ,secretary not later than the date that is one year after the initial date of noncompliance1 #e1jjj2 and 7ii7 in the case where the disclosure of the violation is submitted to the ,secretary after the date that is one year after the initial date of noncompliance1 #aj1jjj4 7,b7 ,acceptance of voluntary disclosures 7i7 ,in general ,effective on the date of the enactment of this paragraph1 the ,secretary shall accept the voluntary disclosure of a technically noncompliant compensation arrangement if such voluntary disclosure is made as described in clause 7iii74 ,the ,secretary may accept and reasonably rely on information provided by a person or entity that is in violation of subsection 7a77#a7 only because of a compensation arrangement that is technically noncompliant4 7ii7 ,acceptance of disclosure ,the ,secretary may reject any voluntary disclosure submitted under clause 7iii7 within #ij days after the receipt of the disclosure only if the ,secretary determines that the disclosure does not conform to the requirements described in clause 7iii74 ,if the ,secretary fails to reject a voluntary disclosure within such #ij-;day period1 the voluntary disclosure is deemed to be accepted4 7iii7 ,voluntary disclosure ,a voluntary disclosure described in this clause1 with respect to a compensation arrangement1 is a disclosure submitted to the ,secretary1 by a party to such arrangement that contains the following3 7,i7 ,the identification of the disclosing party and all other parties to the disclosed compensation arrangement4 7,,ii7 ,a description of the compensation paid under the arrangement and the dates of noncompliance4 7,,iii7 ,a certification by the disclosing party that the compensation arrangement-- 7aa7 is technically noncompliant 7as defined by subparagraph 7,c772 7bb7 has been cured of the technical noncompliance1 or is otherwise terminated2 and 7cc7 is1 in the case of technical noncompliance under subparagraph 7,c77i71 a valid contract under ,state law1 an arrangement consistent with fair market value1 and one in which remuneration under the arrangement is not determined in a manner that takes into account directly or indirectly the volume or value of any referrals4 7,,iv7 ,payment for the full amount of the civil monetary penalty under clause 7i7 or 7ii71 as applicable1 of subparagraph 7,a74 7,c7 ,definition technical noncompliance ,for purposes of this paragraph1 the term technical noncompliance means an arrangement that is in violation of subsection 7a77#a7 only because-- 7i7 the arrangement is not set forth in writing2 7ii7 the arrangement is not signed by #a or more parties to the arrangement2 or 7iii7 a prior arrangement expired and services continued without the execution of an amendment to such arrangement or a new arrangement4 7,d7 ,applicability to pre-enactment disclosures to relieve backlog ,the ,secretary shall provide for the application of this paragraph to any technically noncompliant compensation arrangement that has been disclosed1 and to which there has not been a final settlement as of the date of enactment of this paragraph4 7,e7 ,report ,not later than #bd months after the date of enactment of this paragraph1 the ,inspector ,general of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services shall submit to ,congress a report on the implementation of this paragraph4 ,such report shall include-- 7i7 the number of persons or entities making disclosures of technical noncompliance under this paragraph2 7ii7 the amount and type of alternative sanctions collected or imposed for technical noncompliance2 7iii7 the types of violations disclosed2 and 7iv7 such other information as the ,inspector ,general determines may be necessary to evaluate the impact of this paragraph4 4