The federal government heavily regulates healthcare, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. Regulation involves a number of complex laws. Many of these laws target fraud and abuse by healthcare providers and industry players. They are designed to prevent bribes and kickbacks in federal healthcare programs. One of them is the Anti-Kickback Statute.
The Anti-Kickback Statute, or AKS for short, is a criminal statute that prohibits transactions meant to induce or reward referrals for healthcare items and services. The statute aims to penalize the knowing and willful solicitation of remuneration, also known as kickbacks. While fancy dinners, contributions to a client’s favorite charity, or other luxury perks may be acceptable in other fields, they can trigger violations of the statute in the healthcare context.
Prohibited Actions under the Anti-Kickback Statute
Because the Anti-Kickback Statute is an intent-based statute, the government must establish knowing and willful solicitation of kickbacks.to impose penalties. But the government need not demonstrate that the defendant specifically intended to violate the statute.
Remuneration can include inducing the recipient to refer a patient for treatment paid for by a federal healthcare program. Remuneration also includes paying to induce ordering or recommending certain items or services payable by a federal healthcare program.
The Anti-Kickback Statute applies to all sources of referrals. They can implicate a variety of...
A person in his 30s who demanded compensation for alleged foreign substances in cup noodles and the absence of meat in stir-fried pork was sentenced to prison in both the first trial and the appel...