Advisory Opinion 01-17
Concerning whether an existing ambulatory surgical center ("ASC") joint venture between a hospital-affiliated entity and an entity owned indirectly by five ophthalmologists, together with the execution of three related ancillary agreements (the "Arrangement"), constitutes grounds for the imposition of sanctions under the exclusion authority at section 1128(b)(7) of the Social Security Act (the "Act") or the civil monetary penalty provision at section 1128A(a)(7) of the Act, as those sections relate to the commission of acts described in section 1128B(b) of the Act).