Splitting fees or splitting hairs? Fee splitting and health care--the Florida experience

Attorneys Jacobs and Goodman review the prohibitions against fee-splitting under Florida law and argue that Florida and other states need a clear statutory definition of prohibited activities. In addition, the authors argue that the Florida Board of Medicine has applied the prohibition against fee-splitting arbitrarily and in contrast to legal precedent set by the Second District Court of Appeals. Finally, the authors suggest that Minnesota provides clear legislative guidance on the issue of fee-splitting and that the approach adopted by Minnesota is more practical in today's complex health care reimbursement environment.