Maryland ownership & cpom for med spas

Ownership & corporate practice of medicine in Maryland

Maryland confines a professional corporation to a single profession and to the professional service named in its articles, and its Medical Practice Act contemplates a physician practicing within or as a professional corporation — so the corporate form is available, but it is not a route to mixing a medical practice with an unrelated business. Maryland’s self-referral law is the financial-arrangement rule on record: except as the section itself provides, a health care practitioner may not refer a patient, or direct an employee or contractor to refer a patient, to a health care entity in which the practitioner or the practitioner with immediate family owns a beneficial interest, in which immediate family owns 3 percent or more, or with which any of them has a COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENT — defined as any agreement or system involving any remuneration between the practitioner or an immediate family member and a health care entity. Whether a particular med spa owner is a “health care entity” under that law, and whether any of its exceptions apply, is not surveyed by these claims.

• Except as permitted under subsection (b) of this section, a corporation may be a professional corporation solely for the purpose of rendering professional services within a single profession.

  Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns §5-102(a)(1) · verified Sep 3, 2026

• A professional corporation may not render a professional service or engage in an activity other than the professional service authorized by its articles of incorporation.

  Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns §5-104(a) · verified Sep 3, 2026

• Licensee means an individual to whom the Board issues a license, including an individual practicing medicine within or as a professional corporation or professional association.

  Md. Code, Health Occ. §14-101(i) · verified Sep 3, 2026

• Under Maryland’s self-referral law, a health care practitioner may not refer a patient, or direct an employee of or person under contract with the health care practitioner to refer a patient to a health care entity: (1) In which the health care practitioner or the practitioner in combination with the practitioner’s immediate family owns a beneficial interest; (2) In which the practitioner’s immediate family owns a beneficial interest of 3 percent or greater; or (3) With which the health care practitioner, the practitioner’s immediate family, or the practitioner in combination with the practitioner’s immediate family has a compensation arrangement. The section opens with an exception clause: “Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section”.

  Md. Code, Health Occ. §1-302(a) (Referrals by health care practitioners — prohibited) · verified Sep 7, 2026

• “Compensation arrangement” means any agreement or system involving any remuneration between a health care practitioner or the immediate family member of the health care practitioner and a health care entity.

  Md. Code, Health Occ. §1-301(c)(1) (“Compensation arrangement” defined) · verified Sep 7, 2026

• “Referral” means any referral of a patient for health care services. “Referral” includes: (i) The forwarding of a patient by one health care practitioner to another health care practitioner or to a health care entity outside the health care practitioner’s office or group practice;

  Md. Code, Health Occ. §1-301(l)(1)-(2)(i) (“Referral” defined) · verified Sep 7, 2026