Florida appeals court strikes down state antikickback statute.

This won't have much impact on Texas' AKB law, which slavishly adheres to federal standards, including federal safe harbors. But, for what it's worth, a Florida court has struck down that state's AKB law because it is inconsistent with the federal version. Here's today's Modern Healthcare story:

A Florida appeals court has overturned the state's Medicaid Provider Fraud Statute, calling its antikickback provision unconstitutional. In doing so, the 3rd District Florida Court of Appeal affirmed a judge's ruling in 2000 that the antikickback provision conflicted with the federal law. The Florida law has a different definition of illegal remuneration and does not include safe harbors, the court said. Thus, the state law "criminalizes certain activity that is protected under the federal antikickback statute and stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress," the court said. As awareness of healthcare fraud has grown and whistleblower lawsuits have proliferated, many states have passed their own versions of federal antifraud law. Edgar Bueno, a former attorney with HHS' inspector general's office and now in private practice in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said there's no binding requirement on other states' courts to follow the Florida decision. "But it does set nonbinding legal precedent," Bueno said. "I suspect we'll hear of more state challenges."

The opinion, State v. Hardin (No. 03-0521, Jan. 28. 2004), is here.