Doctors can't own the laboratories or x-ray facilities  or durable medical
equipment stores where they send their patients; so LCs can't rent pumps to
their clients.

It is not completely true that doctors can own laboratories or x-ray facilities.  Part of the difficulty arises when these testing facilities are outside the doctor's office.  If they are provided in the doctor's office they can still be done.  But even then there are some complex formulas about how the income can be divided among the doctors.  Let's say the doctor earns $10.00 per x-ray.  Dr. A orders 9 x-rays and Dr. B orders one x-ray.  For doctor A and B to divide the profit they cannot divide it by the number of x-rays that they ordered.  They can split it 50-50 75-25 flip a coin or take the square root of their birth year, but they can't divided it by the amount of tests that they order.  This is true even if it is their own lab.

I am also not sure that the stark provisions apply to LC's.  I think is depends on if the LC functions as a employee of the doctor or as a consultant to the doctor. 

If any body want to visit more about this issue feel free to send me private email.

Jon Ahrendsen MD FAAFP
Clarion, Iowa