NY Pub Health L § 587 (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBH - Public Health Article 5 - Laboratories Title 6 - Laboratory Business Practices 587 - Prohibited Practices.

§  587.  Prohibited  practices.  1.  No health services purveyor shall solicit, receive, accept or agree to receive or accept  any  payment  or other  consideration  in  any  form  to the extent such payment or other consideration is given for the referral of services  or  participate  in the  division, transference, assignment, rebate, splitting of fees, with any clinical laboratory or its agent, employee  or  fiduciary,  or  with another  health  services  purveyor  in  relation to clinical laboratory services.  Specifically  prohibited  practices  shall  include,  without limiting thereto, the following:  (a)  Acceptance of payments for rental of space for more than the fair market value or where the rental amount is  affected  by  test  ordering volume or value.  (b)  Acceptance  of rental payments for storage space for any supplies provided by any clinical laboratory or its agent, employee or fiduciary.  (c) Acceptance of  payments  for  filling  in  proper  information  on laboratory request forms for tests.  (d) Receipt or acceptance of employees, agents or other fiduciaries of any  clinical  laboratory  to  perform any duties in the facility of any health  services  purveyor  provided,  however,  that  nothing  in  this subdivision shall prohibit a hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of  this  chapter  or  a  health  maintenance  organization operating in accordance with article forty-three of  the  insurance  law  or  article forty-four  of  this  chapter and a clinical laboratory from contracting for laboratory management services including the provision of  technical services and employees for the performance of functions directly related to clinical laboratory operations.  (e)  Receipt or acceptance of equipment, supplies or services provided by any clinical laboratory or its agent, employee or fiduciary for  less than  fair  market value or when the purchase price or rental payment is in any way related to the reference of  patients  or  specimens  to  any clinical laboratory.  (f)  Receipt  or  acceptance of any monies or other consideration from any clinical laboratory or its agent, employee or fiduciary as a  bonus, commission  or  fee  in the form of a fixed or percentage return for the number or dollar value of laboratory tests performed or to be  performed by  any  clinical laboratory to which patients or specimens are referred or for the number of patients or specimens referred.  (g) The purchase of  prepayment  coupons,  tickets,  booklets  or  any variation   of  such  prepayment  instruments  as  advance  payments  by purveyors of health services for  clinical  laboratory  services  to  be rendered by any clinical laboratory.  (h)  To accept payment of money or other consideration from anyone for any clinical laboratory tests rendered or to be rendered on any specimen for transference of the money or other consideration in whole or in part to any clinical laboratory or to actually be kept by the health services purveyor.  (i)  To  accept  or  use  directly  any  instrument  or  any  clinical laboratory  form  marked "Invoice", "Receipt", "Payment Received" or any other variation for issuance to patients as  if  the  patient  had  been billed and paid the clinical laboratory.  (j)  Receipt  or  acceptance of any monies or other consideration from any  clinical  laboratory  or  its  agent,  employee  or  fiduciary  for influencing  any  person  to  refrain  from using or utilizing any other clinical laboratory.   2. No clinical laboratory or its agent, employee  or  fiduciary  shall make, offer, give, or agree to make, offer, or give any payment or other consideration   in  any  form  to  the  extent  such  payment  or  other consideration is given for the referral of services  or  participate  in  the  division, transference, assignment, rebate, splitting of fees, with any health services  purveyor,  or  with  another  clinical  laboratory. Specifically   prohibited  practices  shall  include,  without  limiting thereto, the following:  (a) To offer or agree to give or give any payments for rental of space for  more  than  the  fair  market  value  or where the rental amount is affected by test ordering volume or value.  (b) To offer or agree to give or  give  rental  payments  for  storage space for any supplies provided to any health services purveyor.  (c)  To  offer  or  agree  to give or give any payments for filling in proper information on laboratory request forms for tests.  (d) To supply employees, agents or other fiduciaries of  any  clinical laboratory  to perform any duties in the facility of any health services purveyor provided, however,  that  nothing  in  this  subdivision  shall prohibit  a  hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of this chapter or a  health  maintenance  organization  operating  in  accordance  with article  forty-three  of the insurance law or article forty-four of this chapter and  a  clinical  laboratory  from  contracting  for  laboratory management  services,  including the provision of technical services and employees for the performance of functions directly related to  clinical laboratory operations.  (e)  To  offer  or  agree  to  give or give any equipment, supplies or services to any health services purveyor for less than fair market value or when the purchase price or rental payment is in any  way  related  to the reference of patients or specimens to any clinical laboratory.  (f)   To  offer  or  agree  to  give  or  give  any  monies  or  other consideration to any health services purveyor as a bonus, commission  or fee in the form of a fixed or percentage return for the number or dollar value  of  laboratory tests performed or to be performed by any clinical laboratory to which patients or specimens are referred or for the number of patients or specimens referred.  (g) To sell any prepayment coupons, tickets, booklets or any variation of such prepayment instrument as advance payments by purveyors of health services for clinical laboratory services.  (h) To send a bill to or receive  payment  from  any  health  services purveyor for clinical laboratory services rendered to any patient, where such  bill  is  sent in code on blank paper, without name and address of the clinical laboratory, without name or address of  the  addressee,  or without  name or other identifying information of the person who was the recipient of the laboratory service or in any other falsified manner.  (i) To utilize  any  health  services  purveyor  or  anyone  else  not authorized  by  law  to collect money or other consideration from anyone for any clinical laboratory tests rendered or  to  be  rendered  on  any specimen  for  transference of the money or other consideration in whole or in part to the clinical laboratory or to  be  actually  kept  by  the health services purveyor.  (j)  To  supply  to any health services purveyor any printed form of a clinical laboratory marked "Invoice", "Receipt", "Payment Received",  or any other variation for use by any health services purveyor issuing same to patients as if the patient had paid the clinical laboratory.  (k)   To  offer  or  agree  to  give  or  give  any  monies  or  other consideration for influencing  any  person  to  refrain  from  using  or utilizing any other clinical laboratory.   3.  This  section  shall  not  apply  to  any: (a) legally established hospital group purchasing program approved by the commissioner,  or  (b) any  arrangement  between  a  clinical laboratory and health maintenance organization operating in accordance with  article  forty-three  of  the  insurance  law  or  article  forty-four  of this chapter approved by the commissioner.   4.  Any  transaction  excluded  from  the  prohibition of section five hundred eighty-six of  this  title  relating  to  payment  for  services rendered  by  clinical  laboratories  shall  be  deemed  to be similarly excluded from the application of this section.   5. No clinical laboratory or its agent, employee  or  fiduciary  shall make,  offer,  give  or  agree  to  make,  offer  or give to any person, partnership,  corporation  or  other  entity  any   payment   or   other consideration  in  any  form  as a bonus, commission or fee for securing referrals of services to the clinical  laboratory  except  for  payments made to a person who is an employee of the clinical laboratory.   6.  The  public  health  council  shall  adopt  and  amend  rules  and regulations, subject to approval by the commissioner, to effectuate  the provisions and purposes of this section.