Compliance Tool: Addressing EKRA When Selling Your Lab

When selling your laboratory, it’s important to ensure compliance with the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA). Failure to do so could result in added complications, or even the deal falling apart completely. Here are the main EKRA-related points lab leaders should consider when selling:

Steps to follow when contemplating selling your laboratory

Step 1: Collaborate with your accounting and finance team

• • Ensure all financial paperwork and records are in order and organized

• • Assess all compensation agreements and arrangements for EKRA compliance (this includes employees, contractors, vendors, etc.—anyone to whom you issue payment for services rendered)

• Correct any non-compliant compensation arrangements by:

  • Conducting fair market assessment of services provided and aligning compensation accordingly, ensuring that no compensation is tied to patient referrals or volume of referrals

Step 2: Secure an industry expert healthcare attorney to assess EKRA compliance

• • Establish an EKRA compliance program (which is attractive to potential buyers)
    • Develop policies and procedures for handling EKRA concerns
    • Compile a list of key leaders to direct those concerns to

    • • Implement recurring employee education and training on EKRA

• • Perform legal audit

• Address compliance issues discovered during audit

Step 3: Compile a comprehensive list of all current payers

• • Determine if applying for additional in-network contracts would increase the marketability or value of your lab and whether or not to do so

• • Determine if applying for out-of-state licenses to accept patient samples from those states would increase the marketability or value of your lab and whether or not to do so