Legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Pete Stark and passed as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1993. Its purpose was to save Medicare dollars by preventing overuse of medical services. Stark I prohibits physicians from referring a patient to a clinical laboratory in which the doctor or a member of his or her family has a financial interest, except in specific situations. This differs from anti-kickback laws because it has to do with self-referral instead of referring to another physician. Sometimes referred to as antikickback act or antikickback statute .