With a dwindling supply of physicians and more hospitals going out of business, rural areas of the country face considerably more healthcare hurdles.But experts say two outdated antifraud lawsthe Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the Stark Lawcould go a long way in solving some of the nation’s most pressing rural health issues involving physician recruitment and digital health.While both laws were an important part of preventing fraud in a fee-for-service model, in a value-based world they are actually becoming an impediment to integration with physicians, Alan Levine, CEO of Ballad Health, a 15-hospital system with locations throughout East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, told lawmakers during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions subcommittee hearing on rural health on Tuesday.

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