Food and Nutrition Services Anti-Kickback Exception

Current understanding

An introduced House bill would amend Title XI of the Social Security Act to exclude remuneration for providing food or nutrition services to patients from the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and related fraud-and-abuse sanctions. If enacted, providers, health plans, and community organizations could offer meals, groceries, or medically tailored nutrition to patients without those benefits being treated as illegal inducements. Status: introduced in the House, referred to committee; no further action.

Evidence log

• 2026-10-29 — To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to exclude from the anti-kickback statute and other sanctions certain remunerations for providing food or nutrition services to individuals.: cross-connection with medical-nutrition-therapy: The proposed anti-kickback carve-out would make it easier for providers and plans to furnish food or nutrition services alongside Medicare-covered medical nutrition therapy without fraud-and-abuse exposure. (novelty: 2)

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