fee splitting

noun1

1. •
   The practice, usually of questionable ethicality, by some professionals, such as medical doctors and lawyers, of sending a client to a second practitioner for an additional consultation in order to obtain another payment from the client or from his or her insurer, and in return for which the original practitioner receives a portion of the payment made to the second practitioner (a "commission" or "piece of the action").

   • Some commenters believed that implementation of the employer-employee exemption would allow abusive practices to occur such as kickbacks, tie-ins, fee splittings, and conflicts of interest. — 1997