Anti-Kickback Statute
The Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) is a federal criminal law that prohibits knowingly offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving anything of value to induce or reward referrals of business payable by federal health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Because home health agencies live on referrals, the AKS shapes how they can compensate liaisons and medical directors and how they interact with referral sources. This page is educational and general; it is not legal advice.
Definition
The Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) is a federal criminal law that prohibits knowingly offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving anything of value to induce or reward referrals of business payable by federal health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Because home health agencies live on referrals, the AKS shapes how they can compensate liaisons and medical directors and how they interact with referral sources. This page is educational and general; it is not legal advice.
Why it matters
Anti-Kickback Statute is part of the Compliance & Survey vocabulary used across home health operations, documentation, and revenue cycle. Understanding it helps clinicians, QA leads, and administrators stay aligned on care quality and compliance.
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