On June 11, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) released Advisory Opinion 25-03, offering a favorable review of a proposed telehealth arrangement involving a management support organization (MSO) and a professional corporation (PC). These parties (Requestors) proposed to enter into agreements with third-party telehealth platforms consisting of MSOs providing management services to telehealth providers (Platform MSOs) and affiliated professional telehealth entities that employ clinicians (Platform PCs).
Under the proposal, Requestors would lease clinicians from the Platform PCs and obtain certain administrative services from the Platform MSOs, including marketing, accounting, administrative support, and IT services. The Requestors sought OIG’s review of the proposed structure with the aim to expand access to in-network telehealth services, particularly for patients in underserved and rural areas. The Requestor PC would credential the leased clinicians and enroll them under its existing payor contracts. These clinicians would then provide services to Platform patients under Requestor PC’s in-network plans.
OIG ultimately concluded that while the arrangement implicates the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), it falls within a safe harbor protection. Thus, the payments between the parties do not constitute prohibited remuneration. The opinion offers important insight into how OIG continues to evaluate evolving telehealth and care coordination models under federal fraud and abuse laws.Continue Reading OIG Issues Favorable Advisory Opinion 25-03 Regarding Telehealth Arrangement