A recent GAO report focuses on how federal fraud and abuse laws affect the implementation of financial incentive programs intended to improve quality and efficiency, such as pay-for-performance programs that reward physicians for adherence to clinical protocols or shared savings programs that offer physicians a percentage of a hospital’s cost savings attributable to the physicians. The GAO finds that stakeholders’ compliance concerns may hinder implementation of financial incentive programs to improve quality and efficiency on a broad scale. The report notes that while properly structured financial incentive programs can potentially improve quality and reduce costs, however, improperly structured programs might disguise payments for referrals or adversely affect patient care. The GAO concludes that government agencies and health care providers are likely to “continue to have different perspectives about the optimal balance between innovative approaches to improve quality and lower costs and retaining appropriate patient safeguards.”