• Home
  • Practice Focus
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
    • How I Do It
    • TRIO Best Practices
  • Business of Medicine
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Practice Management
    • Tech Talk
    • AI
  • Literature Reviews
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Career
    • Medical Education
    • Professional Development
    • Resident Focus
  • ENT Perspectives
    • ENT Expressions
    • Everyday Ethics
    • From TRIO
    • The Great Debate
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Rx: Wellness
    • The Voice
    • Viewpoint
  • TRIO Resources
    • Triological Society
    • The Laryngoscope
    • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
    • TRIO Combined Sections Meetings
    • COSM
    • Related Otolaryngology Events
  • Search

Tips for Navigating Negotiations When You Get a Job Offer

by Emily A. Johnson, JD • September 16, 2022

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

Compensation. It’s important to review all forms of compensation when considering a job offer, and physicians and others working in healthcare should closely examine their compensation arrangement for potential legal problems. Two major concerns in a compensation arrangement are violations of the Stark law and any anti-kickback statutes.

You Might Also Like

  • Review These Tips Before Leaving Your Medical Practice Job
  • Job Relocation Assistance Tips for Physicians
  • Physician Job Interview Tips
  • Part-Time Work Appeals to Increasing Number of Physicians
Explore This Issue
September 2022

Broadly speaking, these laws protect Medicare and Medicaid from being billed as part of an inappropriate compensation arrangement. The Stark law prohibits physicians from making referrals for certain designated health services payable by Medicare to an entity with which he or she (or an immediate family member) has a financial relationship, unless an exception applies, and prohibits the entity receiving the referral from submitting claims to Medicare for those referred services. An example of a Stark law violation is a hospital paying doctors to refer otolaryngology patients to their hospital. Because the Stark law operates under strict liability, the intent to profit from an arrangement isn’t required for a physician to violate the law.

The main purpose of negotiations is not to create a winner and a loser, but to create a framework in which everyone involved is headed toward success. —Emily A. Johnson, JD

Federal law and 39 states currently have anti-kickback statutes on their books. These statutes essentially make it illegal to offer or receive anything of value in exchange for referrals of patients who are receiving their benefits from Federal healthcare programs. This could include office space, employee time, bonuses, medications, supplies, other services, and more.

Contract arrangements regarding referrals and compensation can be complex and may often seem innocent to the untrained eye. Unfortunately, a compensation structure that violates these laws cannot be negotiated in good faith. If an arrangement is improper, it must be restructured before anything is signed.

Professional liability insurance. Medical professionals should have professional liability insurance to cover malpractice claims. In addition to knowing what plan your new employer is offering you, it is also important to know what sort of coverage you had in your previous position.

Determine if you have occurrence-based or claims-based coverage. Occurrence-based coverage plans are tied to alleged instances of malpractice. Claims-based coverage plans are tied to when the claim of malpractice is made. If you have occurrence-based coverage, you will be covered for any alleged instances of malpractice that occurred while you were under that plan. Unless you stay with the same insurance company when you switch practices, your claims-based coverage will not cover any claims that originated during your time at the previous practice. You may also need a tail coverage plan to cover you if a former patient asserts that malpractice took place during your previous plan’s coverage period but did not start a claim until after you had left.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Departments, Legal Matters Tagged With: career developmentIssue: September 2022

You Might Also Like:

  • Review These Tips Before Leaving Your Medical Practice Job
  • Job Relocation Assistance Tips for Physicians
  • Physician Job Interview Tips
  • Part-Time Work Appeals to Increasing Number of Physicians

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

Polls

Do you use AI-powered scribes for documentation?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

Top Articles for Residents

  • Applications Open for Resident Members of ENTtoday Edit Board
  • How To Provide Helpful Feedback To Residents
  • Call for Resident Bowl Questions
  • New Standardized Otolaryngology Curriculum Launching July 1 Should Be Valuable Resource For Physicians Around The World
  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Keeping Watch for Skin Cancers on the Head and Neck

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Excitement Around Gene Therapy for Hearing Restoration

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name

    • The Importance of Time Away
    • Endoscopic Ear Surgery: Advancements and Adoption Challenges 
    • Reflections from a Past President of the Triological Society
    • ENT Surgeons Explore the Benefits and Challenges of AI-Powered Scribes: Revolutionizing Documentation in Healthcare
    • How To: Open Expansion Laryngoplasty for Combined Glottic and Subglottic Stenosis

Follow Us

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • The Triological Society
  • The Laryngoscope
  • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies

Wiley

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1559-4939