Final answer:
The options that represent illegal provider relationships are all correct: joint ventures that violate antitrust laws, kickbacks, and self-referrals. These practices are all considered illegal because they can create unfair competition, involve fraud or bribery, and lead to conflicts of interest.
Step-by-step explanation:
The answer to the question 'Which of the following is considered to be an illegal provider relationship?' is D. All the above. This encompasses joint ventures that violate U.S. antitrust laws, which prohibit anticompetitive practices such as price-fixing, bid-rigging, and dividing markets.
The term kickbacks refers to the illegal practice of receiving a return for a service or product paid for by a third party, which often implicates fraud and bribery. Self-referrals occur when a provider refers a patient to a facility in which they have a financial interest, potentially leading to conflicts of interest and overutilization of services, this can also represent an illegal practice under certain circumstances like those outlined in the Stark Law or Anti-Kickback Statute.