On April 3, the HHS Office of Inspector General announced it will exercise its discretion not to impose administrative sanctions under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute for remuneration related to COVID-19. This follows the recent blanket waivers issued by the HHS with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to protect certain specified financial relationships and referrals otherwise sanctioned by the Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law), as long as they pertain to at least one COVID-19 purpose. These measures are intended to give providers more flexibility during the pandemic.
