– Comment by January 27. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services is seeking recommendations for developing new, or modifying existing, safe harbor provisions under the federal anti-kickback statute, as well as developing new OIG Special Fraud Alerts. The federal anti-kickback statute specifies criminal penalties for knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving payment to induce or reward referrals for or purchases of items or services reimbursable under any of the federal health care programs. Safe harbor provisions specify payment and business practices that would not be subject to sanctions under the federal anti-kickback statute, even though they could induce referrals of business for which payment may be made under a federal health care program. Safe harbors currently exist for value-based arrangements and local transportation in rural areas. Rural stakeholders should send recommendations to https://www.regulations.gov, follow the “Submit a comment” instructions, and refer to file code OIG-1124-N.
