Does the Anti-Kickback Statute make it a crime to pay or receive remuneration for referrals under a Federal health care program?
The Anti-Kickback Statute makes it a felony to knowingly and willfully solicit, receive, offer, or pay remuneration to induce or reward referrals for items or services payable by a Federal health care program.
The answer
The criminal prohibition
42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b) makes it a criminal offense to knowingly and willfully solicit or receive, or to offer or pay, any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate) in return for referring an individual, or for purchasing or ordering, an item or service for which payment may be made under a Federal health care program.
Scope of remuneration
The bar reaches remuneration paid directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind. A violation is a felony, and intent to induce referrals is the operative element.
The judged input
What the AI drafted
Submitted to the judgeThis is an excerpt from a draft AKS compliance memo — the kind of work product a lawyer generates with a legal-AI drafting tool, then has to stand behind. Kingsfield does not write it; it rules on the citations the model put in it. This draft cites two authorities; one of them is wrong.
The judge ruled on every citation as the draft used it — it accepted 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b) and rejected 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a. Here is why.
The verdict
How Kingsfield ruled
Ruled 2026-06-23Each citation in the draft above was submitted to the Kingsfield judge and ruled against the primary-law corpus — Accept, Reject, or Inconclusive, per citation. These are live verdicts, not editorial. Each card shows the claim the draft made and the verbatim authority the verdict was rendered against.
The draft claimed: It is a criminal offense to knowingly and willfully solicit or receive, or to offer or pay, any remuneration in return for referring an individual, or for purchasing or ordering an item or service, for which payment may be made under a Federal health care program.
“§ 1320a in return for referring an individual to a person for the furnishing or arranging for the furnishing of any item or service for which payment may be made in whole or in part under a Federal health care program, or”
Cite found; proposition supported by the cited text.
The draft claimed: Section 1320a-7a is the provision that criminalizes knowingly and willfully paying remuneration to induce referrals under a Federal health care program.
Cite found, but the cited text does not support the claim. 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7a is the civil monetary penalties statute imposing administrative penalties and assessments for false claims and improper conduct; the criminal prohibition on paying remuneration for referrals is the Anti-Kickback Statute at 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(b). Regenerate with the correct authority.
Run your own work through the judge
Kingsfield rules on every citation, quote, and proposition your AI produces, against the primary law we cover. Accept, Reject, or Inconclusive, per citation, with a signed Audit Capsule.
Connect the Judge See the architectureThis page is legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The draft shown is an illustration of a typical AI answer; verdicts reflect the cited authority in the Kingsfield corpus as of the ruling date shown above.