Unbeknownst to patients or insurance carriers, there are many clinics across the country that are not owned by the professionally licensed health care providers who provide patient care.

Every state has statutes covering ownership issues. The American Academy of Emergency Medicine provides information on their website detailing this information. Click here.

The idea behind these laws is that it is in the best interest of the patient that license professionals direct patient care, not unlicensed (lay) owners.

Although the activities of these clinics may not involve fraud, lay ownership has proven to be a problem within the fraud fighting industry.

There are exceptions to these statutes in some cases pertaining to hospitals, HMO's, etc.

Want to know whether or not your health care provider owns his own business? Click TOOLBOX to find out how to check this out and who to tell.