Guiamelon

Dr. Rita Guiamelon, a physician, challenges her conviction under Business and Professions Code section 650 (section 650) for paying illegal fees to persons who referred patients qualified for federal and state programs to her practice. She contends this statute is preempted by the federal Medicaid antikickback statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)) under the doctrines of implied conflict and obstacle preemption. Her conflict preemption argument is that the federal antikickback statute requires a higher scienter than does section 650, making compliance with both federal and state law impossible. Guiamelon’s obstacle preemption argument is that as applied to her, section 650 is an obstacle to the congressional objective of providing health care services to the underserved. We conclude that conflict preemption is not applicable because the federal antikickback statute supplements rather than supplants the remedy under section 650. Obstacle preemption is not established because the purpose of section 650 is consistent with the purpose underlying the federal antikickback statute.

Alternatively, Guiamelon argues section 650 is unconstitutionally vague and that it improperly…