Judith Waltz Quoted on CMS Co-location Guidance, Difference Between Time-Shares and Leases

Foley & Lardner LLP Partner Judith Waltz is quoted in the article, “CMS: Hospital-M.D. Time-Shares Are Surveyed Under CoPs, But Not Leases,” in the Report on Medicare Compliance, published by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA).

Surveys of hospital compliance with the Medicare conditions of participation (CoPs) will include space that’s time-shared with physicians, but not space leased to physicians, according to a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) official who wrote its November 2021 “Guidance for Hospital Co-location with Other Hospitals or Healthcare Facilities” (revised).

“The difference between leased space and time-shares presumably is meant to be consistent with the Stark Law regulations,” said Waltz. “The revised Stark rule… explained that leased space ‘involves the transfer of dominion and control,’ which isn’t the case with a time-share.” She continued, “While the legal distinction between leases and timeshares may seem somewhat artificial, the position in the co-location guidance makes sense from a survey and certification viewpoint: Only those parts of the hospital that are under the hospital’s control are subject to survey (i.e., those that do not have a lease and where control has not been transferred), even though the time-share space is subject to additional requirements under Stark.”

Waltz is the co-chair of the firm’s Health Care Practice Group and Health Care Industry Team.