Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024
A. An
optometrist, duly licensed under the provisions of the Louisiana optometry law
as set forth in
R.S.
37:1041 et seq. shall not divide, share,
split, or allocate, either directly or indirectly, any fee for optometric
services or materials with any person, corporation, partnership, or other
entity, other than through an affiliation with:
1. a professional optometric corporation or
professional medical corporation organized pursuant to title 12 of the
Louisiana Revised Statutes and domiciled in the state of
Louisiana;
2. a partnership or
limited liability company domiciled in the state of Louisiana and for whom each
partner or member, as the case may be, is:
a.
an optometrist or physician duly licensed as an optometrist or physician in the
state of Louisiana; or
b. a
professional optometric corporation or professional medical corporation
described above in Paragraph A.1 of this Section;
3. an optometrist or physician duly licensed
as an optometrist or physician in the state of Louisiana;
4. a licensed hospital or hospital
affiliate;
5. a licensed ambulatory
surgical center owned in full or in part by Louisiana-licensed physicians or
optometrists;
6. a government
sponsored healthcare program or facility;
7. an entity that is a combination or joint
venture of the entities authorized under this §111.A
B. Nothing contained in this Section
prohibits an optometrist from paying:
1. an
employee in the regular course of employment; or
2. a fair market value fee to a person or
entity organized and operated for the primary purpose of providing billing
services, collection services, administrative preparation, practice management,
marketing materials, cooperative buying and/or group purchasing options for or
on behalf of an optometrist or entity described above in §111.A based upon
a percentage of professional service fees billed or collected, a flat fee, or
any other arrangement that directly or indirectly divides professional fees, so
long as:
a. the optometrist at all times
controls the amount of the fees charged and collected for professional
services;
b. the fee paid to the
service provider is not for the solicitation or referral of a patient;
and
c. no significant function of
the service provider involves activities other than the provision of billing
services, collection services, administrative preparation, practice management,
marketing materials, cooperative buying and/or group purchasing
options.
C.
Nothing in this Section shall be construed as to prohibit a licensed
optometrist from participating in a government-approved shared savings or
alternative payment model such as an accountable care organization, physician
specialty model, or Medicare Advantage innovation model.
D. Violation of the provisions of this
§111 by an optometrist shall be considered a violation of provisions of
R.S.
37:1061, and as such the board may refuse to
renew the license of any such optometrist on its annual renewal date of March 1
of each year (R.S.
37:1056) and/or subject such optometrist to
suspension or revocation of his or her license to practice optometry upon due
notice and hearing as provided in
R.S.
37:1062.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
37:1048.
